Bridge demolition 2004-05

July 8, 2004: A crew worked on the Illinois side of the old bridge to prepare for blasting of the eastern spans in August. ((Fred Lynch))

Aug. 3: A crowd of spectators await the first blast. ((Mark Bliss))

Aug. 3: As seen from a helicopter, dust rises from the blast that dropped the four sections on the Illinois end. ((Joel Ray))

Aug. 26: The second blast takes out the next 314-foot span. ((Joel Ray))

Aug. 26: The second blast as seen from the north side. ((Don Frazier))

Aug. 26 ((Don Frazier))

Aug. 26 ((Don Frazier))

Sept. 9 ((Fred Harl))

Sept. 9 ((Fred Lynch))

Sept. 9 ((Don Frazier))

Sept. 9 ((Don Frazier))

Sept. 9 ((Don Frazier))

Sept. 9 ((Don Frazier))

Sept. 9

Sept. 9

Sept. 9

Sept. 9

Sept. 9

Sept. 9 ((Joel Ray))

Sept. 9

Sept. 23: The demolition crew detonates the blast dropping the last 314-foot span.

Sept. 23 ((Joel Ray))

Sept. 29: The last remaining steel span is blasted into the river. ((Don Frazier))

Sept. 29 ((Don Frazier))

Oct. 19: Salvage workers were dwarfed by the large backhoe used to dredge the Mississippi River for chunks of concrete as demolition worked continued to remove the old bridge piers.

Nov. 3: Demolition crews blasted Pier 3 into rubble.

Nov. 9: Another scheduled blast took rock skipping on the river to a new level.

Mar. 12, 2005: Workers place blast mats on the remaining pier, in preparation for the explosion. ((Fred Lynch))

Mar. 12: The area is cleared minutes before the blast. ((Fred Lynch))

Mar. 12: The underwater explosion demolishes the pier. ((Fred Lynch))