Explosive demolition of US421 bridge over Ohio River

The fourth and final section of the Milton-Madison Bridge in the US has now been demolished. This aged 740m long structure was no longer able to cope with the traffic volumes along the route and has been demolished to make way for a new bridge. The bridge connects the US states of Indiana and Kentucky and has provided a key traffic route for the busy US421 over the Ohio River for many years. In a rather innovative piece of engineering, the new bridge has been constructed alongside the old structure and even
September 23, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The fourth and final section of the Milton-Madison Bridge in the US has now been demolished. This aged 740m long structure was no longer able to cope with the traffic volumes along the route and has been demolished to make way for a new bridge. The bridge connects the US states of Indiana and Kentucky and has provided a key traffic route for the busy US421 over the Ohio River for many years. In a rather innovative piece of engineering, the new bridge has been constructed alongside the old structure and even using the same supports. This made the demolition particularly tricky due to the very close proximity of the new structure, now being used to carry traffic, to the old bridge. Traffic was halted during the explosive demolition, which was highly successful with the remnants of the old structure falling where planned and the new link being undamaged by the blasting work. With the old structure removed, the new and much wider bridge can now be slid directly over the old supports. This work will be carried out once the existing supports have been strengthened and modified. When the new link is in place over the supports, the restrictions on the size of vehicles using the bridge will then be lifted.

Thanks to 6755 Demolition News for alerting us to this story.
Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Golden route to success
    July 20, 2012
    Built in 1937 and still the ninth longest suspension bridge in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay remains in fine shape despite its age - Andrew Bardin Williams writes The Golden Gate Bridge turned 75 years old on May 27 and continues to play a key role in the transportation, engineering, construction and ITS communities. The structure has played an important historical role, an engineering success that boosted the economy of the region. And it also led the way as the first major pub
    Read More
  • VIDEO: Bridge demolition jobs in CA
    November 23, 2015
    Explosive demolition techniques were used to remove a bridge structure in the US at the weekend. In California on the west coast, the removal of a pier from the old Bay Bridge structure was carried out. The explosive demolition was organised by 5246 Caltrans, with around 10tonnes of explosives being used to blast the redundant bridge pier. Protective layers of wood and steel were used to prevent debris from the massive 24.4m x 42.7m bridge pier from being thrown into the air.
    Read More
  • 'Tricky' bridge project
    February 7, 2012
    Contractor Ringway has completed work on a tricky project to replace Stile Farm Bridge, which crosses the Great Stour River near Chilham in County Kent, south-east England. Built in the 1920s, the bridge was in a severe state of disrepair resulting in weight restrictions of just 3tonnes. The new structure has a 16m span and is constructed using pre-cast concrete, with pre-stressed steel-reinforced beams based on cast in-situ abutment, and enables the bridge to carry heavier traffic. As well as helping to ea
    Read More
  • Let’s Boogie in a new tunnel
    July 7, 2020
    The new Victory Boogie Woogie Tunnel will be the most sustainable tunnel in the Netherlands.
    Read More

Highlighted Content