Final Bridge Section Set For Demolition
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe final section of the Milton-Madison Bridge is set to come down Tuesday. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says pieces of the bridge will be dismantled and sold for scrap.
September 13, 2013
News Release
Louisville, Kentucky — The final 600-foot section of the 84-year-old Milton-Madison Bridge is scheduled to be demolished early next week. Project officials urge caution for spectators viewing the event, as well as for residents and businesses in downtown Milton.
Weather permitting, the 600-foot-long section will be demolished at approximately 9:00 a.m. on Sept 17. Because of the span's proximity to downtown Milton, those in homes and businesses in the area are being asked to stay indoors starting at 8:45 a.m. until after the blast. Walsh Construction plans to distribute informational flyers to all impacted businesses and residents within the 1,000-foot safety perimeter. Spectators must remain outside the safety perimeter, which will be strictly enforced by law enforcement officials.
The new bridge will close at approximately 9:00 a.m. and is expected to reopen to traffic at or before 11:00 a.m. River traffic will be closed starting at approximately 9:00 a.m. and will reopen shortly after the blast. Recreational boaters are required to stay 1,000 feet from the bridge during the blast. An FAA no-fly zone of 2,000 feet will be in effect prior to and during the blast. Once the safety perimeter is secured, sirens will sound at 10-, five- and one-minute intervals prior to the blast.
Pieces of the truss will be retrieved from the river, dismantled and sold for scrap.
Once the old truss is completely removed, the original piers will be widened to accommodate the new 40-foot-wide bridge which is currently on temporary piers. The final step comes later this year, when the new bridge will be slid onto the renovated original piers.
The Milton-Madison Bridge Project – a joint effort between the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet – has received numerous awards. It was named one of the top 10 bridge projects in the country by Roads and Bridges Magazine, received a 2012 Best of What’s New Award from Popular Science magazine and received several state and national engineering awards for innovation. For more information, visit www.MiltonMadisonBridge.com or follow the project on Twitter.
Source: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet