Pittsburgh bridge blasted

Explosive demolition has been used to remove an old highway bridge in Pennsylvania. Some 90kg of explosives were used to blast the pre-weakened steel structure of the 87 year-old Masontown Bridge. The redundant steel truss structure lay just 3m from the new bridge now carrying Route 21 over the Monongahela River and connecting Masontown with Monongahela Township. The location of the explosives and the pre-weakening work carried out however meant that the old structure, built in 1925 and upgraded in 1933, fe
October 7, 2013 Read time: 1 min
Explosive demolition has been used to remove an old highway bridge in Pennsylvania. Some 90kg of explosives were used to blast the pre-weakened steel structure of the 87 year-old Masontown Bridge. The redundant steel truss structure lay just 3m from the new bridge now carrying Route 21 over the Monongahela River and connecting Masontown with Monongahela Township. The location of the explosives and the pre-weakening work carried out however meant that the old structure, built in 1925 and upgraded in 1933, fell as planned and without any damage to the new bridge. Traffic was halted on Route 21 for the blast.
Road Structures

Related Content

  • A new Indian cable-stayed bridge will improve transport connections
    March 2, 2015
    A major new cable-stayed bridge is being constructed in India - Partha Bratim Basistha reports. In India the construction of a major cable-stayed bridge is underway that will boost connections from capital Delhi to its surrounding areas. The bridge is being built in a bid to ease growing interstate traffic movement between Delhi and the surrounding North Indian states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Named Signature Bridge, this is a landmark structure due to its design aesthetics and
    Read More
  • Crane collapse on US bridge project
    July 20, 2016
    A crane collapsed over the Tappan Zee Bridge in the US on July 19th. Construction work is being carried out on the bridge. The structure is located in Tarrytown, New York State and the bridge is around 40km north of central Manhattan, spanning the Hudson River at one of its widest points. The crane was being used for the construction work and collapsed right across the roadway and in front of vehicles using the crossing. A number of vehicles were damaged in the incident and local news reports suggest up to
    Read More
  • Italy road tunnel project excavated
    July 9, 2018
    Italy’s A3 Highway is being upgraded, which will improve transport between Salerno and Calabria. Upgrading Italy’s A3 highway is of prime importance for developing the south of the country and is a project that has been prioritised for construction. The A3 Salerno-Reggio-Calabria highway is a non-toll road managed by ANAS, Italy’s state-owned company that constructs and maintains highways. The route runs a total of 443km, with the road having originally been built between 1966 and 1974. However, the origina
    Read More
  • Tunnel project of Chilean capital Santiago
    April 8, 2015
    Tunnel construction in Chilean capital Santiago will help cut chronic congestion – Mauro Nogarin & Mike Woof write. Chile’s capital Santiago is a thriving city having benefited from the country’s economy growing strongly in recent years. The massive copper mining sector has helped boost the country’s GDP significantly in the past few decades, also aided by the growing international reputation of Chile’s large wine industry. The steady economic growth has resulted in an equally steady growth in average incom
    Read More

Highlighted Content