Sep 16, 2011 By Messenger Staff 2 min read

?MILLSBORO — The Ten Mile Creek Bridge, which carries Route 88 across Ten Mile Creek between Greene and Washington counties, was imploded Monday afternoon to make room for a new bridge structure.

Officials from the state Department of Transportation said demolition was initially slated for 9 a.m. but was postponed until after 4 p.m. that same day due to several issues, including weather.

A mandatory safety zone was initiated around the demolition area during the implosion, which necessitated the closure of surrounding roadways, Ten Mile Creek and other restrictions, PennDOT officials said.

Traffic was stopped on several roads in the vicinity of the bridge for approximately 15 minutes around 4 p.m. to allow for the implosion, including Route 88 southbound and northbound, Route 2039 (Main Street) and Route 2055 (Black Dog Hollow Road).

Navigation traffic on the Monongahela River was not affected; however, Ten Mile Creek was shut down for recreational boaters for approximately one hour prior to the implosion and the area around the bridge on Ten Mile Creek was shut down to recreational boaters for 48 hours immediately following the implosion for debris clean up.

PennDOT officials said the debris was removed within the expected time frame and the new bridge has been opened again for traffic.

Construction on the new bridge is almost complete.

The old two-lane metal bridge, which was approximately 313 feet in length, is believed to have been built in 1932, PennDOT officials said.