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Demolition Of 80-Year-Old Bridge Completed
'Structurally Deficient' Point Marion Bridge Had To Come Down
POSTED: 8:09 am EST November 16,
2009 UPDATED: 12:41 pm EST November 23,
2009
POINT MARION, Pa. -- Part two of the demolition of a Greene County bridge that ran over the Monongahela River took place on Monday.
The old Point Marion Bridge before the demolition.
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The remaining sections of the old Point Marion Bridge in Fayette County were imploded on Monday morning.The bridge carried Route 88 across the Mon, linking Fayette and Greene counties.The bulk of the bridge, locally known as the Albert Gallatin Memorial Bridge and built in the 1930s, was imploded last week.Raw Video:See The Bridge Come Down! Slideshow:See Photos Of The Implosion
PennDOT crews brought down the Point Marion Bridge at 9 a.m. on Monday.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials said the bridge needed to come down because it was structurally deficient. A replacement bridge has already been opened next to the old bridge.Sky 4 flew over the bridge during the implosion. As the 12 pounds of military explosives detonated along the length of the bridge, the structure fell in one piece into the water below.Historic Bridges Web Site:Read More About The Point Marion Bridge"Everything was according to plan. We were very fortunate," Brian Hart, of PennDOT, said after the first phase of demolition work last week. "There were people here, maybe, 5 in the morning, starting to get checks in place, going through a final operations plan with all the emergency safety personnel involved. So, it went off. We were very fortunate and very happy it went off without any incident."PennDOT officials said the new Point Marion Bridge suffered no damage during the demolition and reopened 10 minutes after the implosion. YouTube Video: Crossing The Point Marion Bridge
