Skip to main content

Bridge blast allows new Ohio River crossing

A 213m section of the Old Milton-Madison Bridge was recently blasted into the Ohio River in the United States to make way for a new river crossing. Workers rigged the structure with small controlled explosives and took it down shortly after 9.15am on Sunday 28 July 2013. Small explosive charges were placed at key locations on the bridge. The charges were detonated at intervals to control the direction of the fall. Pieces of the truss will be retrieved from the river, placed on barges, and taken to the shore
July 30, 2013 Read time: 1 min
A 213m section of the Old Milton-Madison Bridge was recently blasted into the Ohio River in the United States to make way for a new river crossing.

Workers rigged the structure with small controlled explosives and took it down shortly after 9.15am on Sunday 28 July 2013.

Small explosive charges were placed at key locations on the bridge. The charges were detonated at intervals to control the direction of the fall.

Pieces of the truss will be retrieved from the river, placed on barges, and taken to the shore for further dismantling and eventually sold for scrap.

Divers are said to be on call to ensure all pieces are removed.

Click on the video link to watch the Old Milton-Madison Bridge blast

Related Content

  • Busy bridge in Beijing replaced quickly
    March 31, 2016
    The replacement of a very busy road bridge in China’s capital Beijing has been carried out successfully. Due to the volume of traffic using the bridge during week days, the work had to be carried out quickly so as to minimise traffic disruption. But despite being carried out in the centre of Beijing, the replacement work for the Sanyuan Bridge just took 43 hours from start to completion.
  • VIDEO: US bridge removed with explosive demolition
    September 28, 2015
    A defunct bridge has been removed in the US State of Louisiana using explosive demolition techniques. The OK Allen Bridge was removed at the weekend, following a planned blast carried out by a demolition specialist. The bridge psanned the Red River for 79 years, providing a connection between Alexandria and Pineville. Traffic was halted on the Curtis-Coleman Bridge, which carries US 71, for safety during the demolition. The steelwork of the old bridge will be removed from the river and sold for scrap, although its concrete piers still have to be demolished.
  • Major project to construct landmark Bay Bridge in California
    October 31, 2012
    Iconic California crossing will offer seismic safety – Adrian Greeman reports A unique single-span single-tower suspension bridge is the iconic centrepiece of a dramatic renewal of the eastern Bay Bridge in California, crossing from San Francisco to Oakland. Tourists in San Francisco sometimes mix up their bridges, identifying as the famous Golden Gate, the double suspension bridge which runs across the wide San Francisco Bay. These serially linked bridges in fact form the Bay Bridge east to Oakland whereas
  • Formwork solutions for bridge maintenance and repair
    January 6, 2015
    An array of innovative formwork solutions have helped in the repair and construction of key bridge links - Mike Woof writes Formwork producers are continually developing novel solutions for bridge maintenance and construction applications. Several key structures have benefited from the novel use of formwork systems, with suppliers such as Doka, PERI, Pilosio and RMD all working on important structures in recent times. In Estonia, construction work is underway on the bypass around Tartu, the country’s