How to torn apart a bridge
From the demolition of a massive three-kilometer
Viaduct in a busy residential area, to the tallest bridge ever torn apart, in this article we’ll take a look at the most spectacular bridge demolitions and how they were carried out.
Which of the following demolitions is your
Number 1? let us know in the comments below.
And now let’s start with Number 10. The Zhuan-yang Viaduct China is known for their lightning speed when it comes to infrastructure development. So, despite the Zhuan-yang Viaduct in Wuhan only being 16 years old, it was already overdue for a replacement
Spanning a whopping 3.5 kilometers long, the Zhuan-yang Viaduct is the longest concrete bridge to ever be demolished in China. The sheer length of the viaduct wasn’t the only thing that proved to be challenging. Another factor that’s making it all the more difficult, is that the Zhuan-yang Viaduct goes through a fairly populated residential district in the city. To make matters worse, major gas pipes and power transmission lines all ran parallel below the viaduct.
To make sure that everything would go as cleanly as possible, the engineers covered the piers of the viaduct and then padded them with water-filled tanks. This was done to absorb the shock waves that the explosion would produce and to reduce the spread of dust. On the night of the demolition, everything went according to plan as the 3.5 kilometer long viaduct came crashing down the ground in spectacular fashion. Number 9. The I-90 Innerbelt Bridge Our second demolition in this article is located in Cleveland, Ohio. The Innerbelt Bridge carried Interstate 90 over the Cuyahoga River, but in 2009, it was found that the aging structure was under extreme stress and was deemed unfit to support the eight-lane traffic. After these structural deficits became known, the planned renovation of the Innerbelt Bridge was scrapped. Instead, it was now scheduled to be demolished.
So in July 2014, after just the push of a button, 180 pounds of explosives carefully placed on the bridge’s foundations sent the entire structure down to the ground. Number 8. The Kosciuszko Bridge The Kosciuszko Bridge was a truss bridge that passed through the Newtown Creek in New York City. At the time of its construction, it was only meant to carry around 10,000 vehicles which was quite reasonable given the amount of vehicles in New York in the late 1930s. But when the bridge became part of the Interstate Highway System, it now saw a daily average of around 180,000 vehicles. So in 2017, after almost eight decades of congestion and overloading, the state of New. York decided to finally get rid of the bridge which was already showing its age. With a few hundred spectators on site during the demolition, over 900 charges were detonated bringing 10 million kilos of steel to the ground.
Number 7. The Henry Lawrence Bridge For the next demolition, we travel to the state of Kentucky. The Henry Lawrence Memorial was constructed in 1932 and served as the only roadway across the Cumberland River in the entire state. In 2012, a cargo vessel accidentally struck the nearby Eggners Ferry Bridge which was also constructed during the 1930’s. The impact caused the main pier to collapse, almost taking four vehicles with it. After the incident, state officials raised concern regarding the safety of the Henry. Lawrence as well. Three years later, the state of Kentucky deemed the bridge obsolete and was scheduled to be demolished and replaced with a $128-million arch bridge.
On the morning of April 11, 2018, a series of explosions brought it down in spectacular fashion. Black smoke rose from the site as piles of debris fell into the Cumberland River. Shortly after that, two cranes were used to pick up the steel and rubble that fell into the river to be used as scrap metal.
Number 6.
The Morandi Bridge Constructed in 1967, the Ponte Morandi was an integral bridge that linked the mountainous seaside city of Genoa to the rest of Italy and neighboring France. It stood 45 meters above the city and spanned 1.1 kilometers. In 2018, a 210-meter section of the bridge collapsed in the midst of heavy rains. Coupled with poor maintenance practices, the cables corroded and finally snapped, bringing the deck and dozens of vehicles passing through down along with it.
Forty-three people unfortunately lost their lives in this incident. Rescuers found it very difficult to reach survivors who were trapped under thousands of tonnes of concrete as the bridge collapsed under a residential area. The Morandi collapse in 2018 was the 12th bridge collapse in the country since 2004 and citizens were starting to get worried about the safety of their public roads and highways. Ever since the incident, the remaining segments of the Ponte Morandi remained standing and has become a stark reminder of the tragic event. In 2019, what remained of the Ponte Morandi was now set to be demolished through a controlled implosion. Apartment buildings were evacuated and hydrants on the ground were opened to reduce the amount of dust in the air after the explosion. After a loud bang, the symbol of Genoa’s dark past was now reduced to nothing but rubble. The regional president of Ligurdia even called the demolition a “symbolic” one because “It meant that this skyline that reminded us every day of the tragedy of August 14 will no longer be there and that Genoa will now enter its future.”.
Number 5. The Tappan Zee Bridge Going back to the state of New York, the Tappan. Zee bridge was the longest bridge to ever be demolished in New York. It was almost 5 kilometers long and crossed the Hudson at one of its widest points. Constructed back in 1950 , it was designed to last only 50 years because of material shortages and cost-cutting. And by 2010, it had already crossed this supposed deadline and plans to tear it down were already being drafted. The demolition was cut into two parts. First, the western structure was carefully lowered onto awaiting barges and eventually sunk in the Atlantic coast of New York to serve as artificial reefs.
Finally, the eastern part was blown up on the 15th of January 2019 as thousands of onlookers gathered by the Hudson to witness the historic bridge’s final moments. Number 4. The Saskatoon Traffic Bridge For the next one, we head towards Canada to the city of Saskatoon. The Saskatoon Traffic Bridge was the oldest bridge in the city and served both vehicle and foot traffic for more than 100 years. In 2007, they outfitted it with decorative lights which unknowingly alerted the city of the bridge’s potential hazard. The lights would sometimes disconnect because of excessive shaking and this prompted the city to further investigate its condition. The Traffic Bridge was indefinitely closed after major corrosion was discovered along the structure. It was concluded that the maintenance costs would be too high and demolition would make more sense.
Therefore, some segments were first removed manually with heavy equipment, while the remaining three spans were blasted. Number 3. The Jamestown Bridge Located in the state of Rhode Island, the. Jamestown Bridge was completed in 1940 and spanned over 2 kilometers long. It cost around $3 million at the time, which would be $64 million today.
By 1992, the bridge had been rendered
Obsolete because of its age and limited capacity.
In addition, the newer and wider Jamestown
Verrazzano bridge built right beside it had already opened.
For the next 14 years, the old bridge remained closed before the 335 meters long central span was finally demolished.
The United States Coast Guard even called it a navigation hazard for ships passing through the bay. The remaining steel was then picked up by barges to be used for recycling while the remaining concrete was used to create artificial reefs at the mouth of the Narragansett Bay. Number 2. The U.S. 281 Bridge Over in the state of Texas, the US 281 Bridge’s demolition saw a new purpose for the scrap metal that is usually discarded in cases like this one. Constructed in 1936, the bridge served as one of the major crossings over the Colorado. River. But by the early 2000s, it was proving to be too old and narrow for the increasing number of vehicles that pass through it.
By 2013, the state of Texas decided to tear the bridge down to save valuable time to finish construction of a new replacement. At the countdown, a series of explosives placed on the supporting beams sent the entire structure crashing down the Colorado in one go. However, the old bridge isn’t completely going away. Over the next few days, they collected the debris from the river by using cranes on top of barges. A local recycling company will then repurpose the scrap metal to create art sculptures for the city to exhibit. Number 1. Rinsdorf Viaduct Finally, for our number one, let’s take a look at the tallest bridge to ever be demolished, the Rinsdorf Viaduct. Constructed in 1967, the Rinsdorf Viaduct in Wilnsdorf, Germany stood a towering 70 meters tall above the ground.
The viaduct was set to be replaced as part of a modernization movement in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia where more than 60 bridges needed urgent repairs or even replacements. By December 2021, the replacement bridge which was constructed directly beside the old one had already been inaugurated. The challenge for the demolition of the Rinsdorf Viaduct was its elevation and its proximity to the new bridge. In February 2022, 120 kilograms of explosives were placed on the middle and bottom sections of the pillars. The middle charges were detonated just slightly before the bottom ones which made the viaduct’s implosion contained within its own narrow footprint. The entire viaduct simultaneously fell to the ground exactly as planned and the debris perfectly fell onto a prepared bed on the ground. Bonus: The Broadway Bridge While demolitions can be quite satisfying, sometimes things don't go as you expected. For example the Broadway Bridge in Little Rock in Arkansas.
This bridge was set to be demolished in October 2012, because it was supposedly “structurally deficient”. But after a synchronized explosion that set off on the weak points, it withstood the blast and remained intact. It took experts another five hours to finally bring the 93-year-old bridge down by pulling it with cables attached to tugboats. Which of these implosions were the most spectacular?