Bridge demolition evacuation plans moving forward

Evacuate. That's the message from Cape Girardeau police, state highway officials and the demolition contractor to residents in a small area of the city's downtown near where a section of the old Mississippi River bridge will be blasted away Thursday morning.

Authorities went door to door last week to urge residents in 176 apartment buildings and homes to take advantage of a free breakfast at a downtown restaurant and leave the neighborhood for safety reasons early Thursday in advance of a scheduled 6:30 a.m. explosion. The blast will take down a 671-foot steel span over the river's main navigation channel near the Missouri shore.

The evacuation zone covers a 1,500-foot radius of the blast.

Police said the big concern is with flying debris from the explosion. "We don't want someone to get injured out here," said police Sgt. Jack Wimp, head of the department's traffic division.

Police plan to begin blocking off streets in the evacuation zone at 5 a.m. Police will stop motorists and pedestrians from entering the area, which extends along the riverfront north to Merriwether Street, west to Asher Street and the alley that connects Morgan Oak to William Street and south to near the Aquamsi intersection with Fountain Street. Only about three blocks along Merriwether Street are affected. Indian Park and the homes on the west side of Lorimier Street north of the park aren't included in the evacuation zone.

Scott Gustafson, president of Dem Tech, the demolition company, said the explosives that will be used in the blast are encased in copper jackets. When the charges are detonated, the jackets can be projected at about 28,000 feet per second.

Dem Tech is insured to handle any property damage resulting from the blast.

"For the most part, most of these structures aren't going to experience anything more than what you would experience in a thunderstorm," Gustafson said.

Still, he said, concerned residents might want to remove any heirlooms from the walls of their homes and apartments.

He said residents might consider opening windows slightly to protect them from the blast.

The explosion might break a couple panes of glass, but Gustafson said that isn't likely.

Jack Rickard, who owns a 114-year-old brick home that sits on a bluff near the old bridge, isn't worried about the blast. He thinks authorities are overreacting.

"The house isn't going to come tumbling down," he said. "I'm not going to be in any danger."

Rickard had wanted to hold a bridge blast party at his home at 14 Morgan Oak St. But he said that won't be possible -- police will have the streets blocked off so guests and the Jerry Ford Orchestra wouldn't be able to get to his house.

Rickard now plans to hold the party at his nearby Spanish Street condominium. But police say Rickard might find it hard to play host even at the condo because it also is in the evacuation zone.

Rickard said his biggest concern initially was whether the blast might crack the plaster walls of the old house he has spent three years renovating. But after talking to the demolition contractor he believes it shouldn't be a problem because the piers aren't being blown up.

According to the contractor, 314 explosive charges will drop the metal span in the river. Construction crews then will haul the metal pieces out of the water.

Rickard has mixed feelings about seeing the old span razed. Right now, it frames part of the riverfront landscape. From his front yard, Rickard routinely hits golf balls into the Mississippi River.

"This place has a great view," he said. But he added that removal of the old span will give him an even more expansive view of the river. "It is going to have a better view," he said.

As for Thursday's evacuation, it's voluntary. "At this point, we don't have any legal authority to force people out of their homes," said Stan Johnson, MoDOT engineer.

Johnson was among MoDOT staff members who accompanied police and contractor crew members in going door to door last week to notify affected residents.

"Most people realize it's for their own safety," Johnson said. Still, some residents said they planned to stay.

"Some people said they just plan to stay in bed," Johnson said.

MoDOT spokeswoman Angie Wilson said officials personally talked to about 120 residents during the two-day, door-to-door notification effort last week. At the nearly 60 residences where no one answered the door, officials left written notices warning of the blast and a postcard that residents could fill out and return to MoDOT if they wanted breakfast tickets or needed help with transportation or pets.

Wilson said so far MoDOT has distributed about 150 breakfast tickets. The tickets will entitle them to a free buffet breakfast at Port Cape restaurant, being offered with the help of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce. There are two breakfast sessions, 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., and 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Some evacuees might want to eat breakfast after the blast, Wilson said. Efforts are being made to provide those who come to breakfast with access to television, radio and newspapers at the restaurant to disrupt people's morning routines as little as possible, Wilson said.

Those who leave their homes also can watch the blast from a roped off section along the riverfront, near the Themis Street floodgate and a short walk across the street from the restaurant.

Wilson said evacuees can take advantage of other services too.

Cape Girardeau County Transit will provide free shuttle van transportation for affected residents who want a ride from their homes to the riverfront to view the bridge blast and attend the breakfast.

Southeast Missouri State University will allow affected residents to use the locker rooms at the Student Recreation Center to shower and get ready for work, Wilson said.

The local Humane Society has offered to temporarily board people's pets during the evacuation period. Wilson said only four or five dogs might be housed.

A Mary Kay cosmetics representative will offer makeup services at the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Wilson said people could be out of their homes for about two hours Thursday.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123