After downtown detours that lasted the better part of a year, Kellogg Boulevard reopened in full Thursday, St. Paul officials announced.

The thoroughfare had been shut down between Market and Wabasha Streets since April for rebuilding work on two bridges that support the street along the Mississippi River bluffs.

It will close again for about a month in spring 2016 for final resurfacing.

The project was originally scheduled to finish in late November, but once workers started digging, they found the bridges to be in worse shape than believed and pushed the end point to spring.

Mild weather — “the nicest fall we’ve had in years” — let construction continue later into the year, Glenn Pagel, a city bridge engineer, said Thursday.

The final surface needed to be laid down by Oct. 1 to cure before the cold came.

“When we weren’t going to meet that, we (decided) to leave it until spring,” he said.

But the city opted to put down a temporary asphalt overlay that will tide the road over through the winter. Laying down the permanent surface will close the road for another three to four weeks.

That can start as soon as April 14.

“As soon as we can start, we will,” Pagel said.

Marino Eccher can be reached at 651-228-5421. Follow him at twitter.com/marinoeccher.