Kentucky’s 1931 Ledbetter road Bridge comes to an explosive end

Specialist demolition contractors working for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet have successfully brought down one truss span of the Old Ledbetter Bridge near Paducah. The bridge has been taking traffic across the Mississippi River since 1931. Boat traffic on the Tennessee River was halted for about 90 minutes by the U.S. Coast Guard. KYTC said there were several audible warning signals, then a countdown, followed by a flash and puff of smoke from the explosive charges. As sound of the explosion echoed a
October 1, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Specialist demolition contractors working for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet have successfully brought down one truss span of the Old Ledbetter Bridge near Paducah. The bridge has been taking traffic across the Mississippi River since 1931.

Boat traffic on the Tennessee River was halted for about 90 minutes by the U.S. Coast Guard. KYTC said there were several audible warning signals, then a countdown, followed by a flash and puff of smoke from the explosive charges. As sound of the explosion echoed along the river banks, KYTC said the steel truss dropped into about 30 feet (10m) of water below the bridge.

Once an all-clear was issued, river traffic was allowed to resume and a crane was moved in to start pulling steel from the river. The constractor believes it should take about 48 hours to remove the steel and place it on barges to be hauled to a scrap yard.

See it happen on the video below, which was forwarded to World Highways by Demolition News website:
Road Structures Engines, Components & Tyres

Related Content

  • A macro website launched for microsurfacing processes
    October 9, 2018
    RoadResource.org as a go-to website for surfacing information is now live When RoadResouce.org went live – quietly - in July it was the end of two years of hard work by three major US associations for pavement preservation. But there was no grand party or ceremonial pushing of the “go live” button, says Doug Hogue, vice president and general manager of VSS Macropaver. “For all of us in the industry July is a busy period that left little time to celebrate on the opening day,” says the 51-year-old chartere
    Read More
  • What kind of future is there for road tolls?
    November 12, 2013
    Hugh Basham, transport strategy and policy director, UK and Ireland, at DHL Supply Chain, enters the ongoing global debate around the use of road tolls Road pricing has always polarised opinion. Whilst road users - who are already struggling to cope with high fuel prices and insurance premiums – may resent the additional expense, environmentalists and frequent drivers often welcome the introduction of tolls as offering an escape from gridlocked roads. Charging to use the road network isn’t a new phenomenon
    Read More
  • IRF promotes education and career development for road industry entrants
    February 27, 2012
    The Fellowship Orientation and Executive Leadership Program of the Washington Program Center is now the IRF Road Scholar Program. It encompasses the ten-day Fellows' Orientation Program, the Executive Leadership workshop, and the brand new IRF career fair. This year, 25 students from 19 countries participated, bringing the 59-year-old program total to 1,180.
    Read More
  • Bridge under discussion for UK's Thames River
    March 22, 2012
    Engineering specialist AECOM will carry out a study into the proposed Lower Thames Crossing project in the UK.
    Read More

Highlighted Content