Bridge imploded as past makes way for present
Strategically placed explosives were detonated Saturday morning, bringing down the Masontown Bridge that links Fayette and Greene counties. A newer bridge will be completed by 2014 (Photo by Roberto M. Esquivel).
Roberto M. Esquivel|Herald-Standard
Roberto M. Esquivel|Herald-Standard Strategically placed explosives were detonated Saturday morning imploding the Masontown Bridge that links Fayette and Greene counties. Construction on a newer bridge should be completed by 2014.
Roberto M. Esquivel|Herald-Standard
Roberto M. Esquivel|Herald-Standard Three images displayed side-by-side demonstrate how strategically placed explosives were used to detonate the Masontown Bridge over the Monongahela River Saturday morning.
MONONGAHELA TWP. — Early morning fog hid the old Masontown Bridge on Saturday, but nothing could hide the fact that the clock was ticking.
When the fog lifted and all safety precautions were in place, there was a countdown: 5-4-3-2-1. A horn sounded, and an orange flash of light shot through the smoke. A loud pop followed by a wave of energy was felt by those watching the implosion outside St. George’s Serbian Orthodox Church, perched on a hill above the bridge that connects Fayette and Greene counties.
Down came the old bridge into the Monongahela River. Nothing but a white cloud of smoke and the bridge’s concrete support piers remained after the implosion.
Built in 1925 and last repaired in 1992, the bridge took years to build, but it was destroyed in less than five seconds. Anyone who blinked probably missed the action.
“That bridge took years to build and in a matter of seconds, it was in the water — amazing,” said Micos Krewasky, 75, of Carmichaels.
Krewasky said he remembers that in the 1940s, people had to pay a toll to cross the bridge — a nickel a person or 25 cents a car.
Despite a little nostalgia for the bridge Krewasky said he’s crossed many times, it’s time had come.
“It has outlived its usefulness. That’s the bad part about it,” he said.
“The bridge was getting dangerous.”
Tiffany Halley has seen another bridge demolished in Chicago, but Masontown’s show was far better, she said.
“I thought it was pretty impressive,” said Halley, 41, of Farmington.
“The implosion was everything I’d thought it would be. I wasn’t disappointed. The bridge I saw in Chicago, I was closer up and that bridge was smaller than this one.”
As a safety precaution, the implosion — which many thought would happen early to mid morning — was delayed by fog, a train passing through and sightseers who were hoping to steal a peek.
Brayman Construction took extra steps to protect the public, so viewing was not an option for most people.
Bayley Colvin and her father, Bill, came to watch the implosion together.
“It was pretty loud,” said Bayley Colvin, 15, of Greensboro.
“There was a lot of smoke.”
Bill Colvin added, “I don’t think it was as loud as I thought it would be.”
His daughter then said, “I put my hands over my ears, so it wasn’t that bad. But it was still loud.”
The Colvins said they felt the wave of energy — shock waves — that followed the implosion.
“I expected the concussion, but I didn’t expect it to be that intense,” Bayley Colvin said.
Bill Colvin, 57, said he didn’t expect the explosion to last very long.
“I knew it would be quick, but I thought the sound of it and the concussion of it, even being this far away, would be louder than what it was. Still, it was pretty neat. I’ve never seen something like this before. I’ve seen this kind of thing in the movies, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen one live.”
The old bridge will be replaced by a new four-lane bridge. Brayman Construction of Saxonburg is the general contractor for the $49.6 million project that began in 2011 and should be completed in two phases by late 2014, according to previous reports.
Motorists have been able to use two lanes of the new bridge since August.
The newly constructed bridge was temporarily closed to traffic Saturday until after the demolition.
The blasting set off steel cutting charges for the four spans of the bridge, said Bill Kovach, assistant district executive for construction for the state Department of Transportation District 12.
He said the main span was about 400 feet long while the three other spans are about 185 feet long.
After detonation, crews began removing the remnants of the once-mighty bridge from the river.
Kovach said the steel will be taken to a scrap yard where it can be recycled.
Only the old bridge’s concrete support piers remained, and they will be demolished Oct. 12 to clear the way for construction of the other half of the new bridge.
Kovach said the new bridge and the old bridge were only about 13 feet apart. He said the implosion would not affect the new bridge.
“The old bridge is lower than the new one,” he said.
“Even if the old bridge had tilted a little bit, it would not have hit the beams, the deck or anything of the new bridge. The vibrations won’t do anything either. It’s very little vibrations.”
Out with the old, in with the new bridge. Maybe that’s not so bad, said Masontown Councilwoman Kim Essig.
“I read that the old bridge was opened Jan. 1, 1927, the beginning of the new year,” she said.
“I like to think of the opening of the new bridge as another new beginning. As melancholy as it is to see the old bridge imploded, that was a piece of the land for so many years, I look at it as sort of a symbolic new beginning.”
Essig said a bridge is defined as a structure that spans and provides passage over an obstacle.
She said with new infrastructure nearing completion in German Township, the new bridge promises a bright future.
“My hopes are that the new bridge will bring good things to our area and businesses and the like will see the full potential our area has to offer,” she said.
“If you demolish your bridges behind you, then there’s no choice but to move forward.”