Cape Girardeau County, Missouri
and Alexander County, Illinois
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Overview from Missouri side |
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Old and new from Missouri side |
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Old and new from Riverfront Park |
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Old and new from Illinois |
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East approach spans |
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Main spans from southeast |
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Main spans from southwest |
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Main spans from northwest |
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Navigation lights at dusk |
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Six approach spans |
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First span from east |
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Close-up of first span |
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Second span |
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Oblique view of second through sixth spans |
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Pier between second and third span |
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Third span from below |
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Fourth span from below |
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Fifth span |
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Sixth span |
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Underneath the first span |
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Underneath |
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Missing girders underneath |
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Looking straight up at a pier |
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Missing beam |
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Daylight visible through deck |
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Under the lower chord |
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Along lower chord |
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Top of lower chord |
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Abutment joint from outside |
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Joint from side |
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Joint from inside |
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Graffiti at the abutment |
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Backhoe on main span Workers began to remove the asphalt deck from the main span [June 23, 2004] |
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Backhoe at west portal The centerline on the Missouri approach is only a few days from being removed [June 24, 2004] |
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Front end loader on Missouri side The layer of asphalt has been removed, revealing the original concrete base [July 1, 2004] |
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Scrap metal at Illinois side A pile of scrap metal, presumably the curbing along the edge of the bridge deck, sits in preparation to be carted off [July 17, 2004] |
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Work site on Illinois side Workers use the old road on the Illinois side to store their equipment [July 17, 2004] |
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West portal work The guardrails at the west portal has become dislodged, and the builder's plaque mounted on the portal beam has been removed [July 19, 2004] |
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Danger: Falling Material Yellow tape warns of falling material underneath one of the soon-to-be-implosed spans [July 31, 2004] |
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Missing deck from approach There's something missing from this span... [July 31, 2004] |
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Backhoe removing deck A backhoe is perched on the bridge as the concrete deck is removed [July 31, 2004] |
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Crane at west end Workers move a crane into position on the Missouri side [August 2, 2004] |
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Hauling scrap away A truckload of scrap from the Missouri side of the bridge makes a break for the highway [August 3, 2004] |
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Pile of scrap from deck A pile of sections from the deck stands next to the Missouri approach, waiting for transport [August 3, 2004] |
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Phase 1: Before It's 12:11 AM and the tension builds in anticipation of the first pyrotechnics show [August 3, 2004] |
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Phase 1: During At 12:14 AM, in less than a second, four spans come crashing down in a loud boom [August 3, 2004] |
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Phase 1: After By 12:16 AM it's all over, and suddenly the skyline of East Cape looks much different [August 3, 2004] |
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Pier obliterated The pier between the first and second Illinois spans is totally obliterated in the blast [August 3, 2004] |
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Height difference The difference between the imploded and non-imploded spans is striking [August 3, 2004] |
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Fourth span warped The fourth span from the east came down the hardest in the implosion and is visible warped, but still whole [August 3, 2004] |
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Workers on deck A crew of workers head toward the main span, while a forklift drags out pieces of the deck [August 5, 2004] |
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More deck removed Daylight can be seen through the eastern half of the main spans. Within a few days the entire deck surface will be gone, leaving nothing but a skeleton [August 5, 2004] |
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Deck entirely removed The deck has been removed from the plate girder spans over Aquasmi Street [August 13, 2004] |
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Phase 2: Preparations From a barge, workers prepare the explosives for the second demolition phase [August 25, 2004] |
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Phase 2: Before Tension mounts as the next span is about to go boom [August 26, 2004] |
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Phase 2: After Behind schedule, the blast finally occurs just after 7:00 AM, leaving another empty spot in its wake [August 26, 2004] |
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Phase 2: Clean-up By noon, workers cut up the trusses and remove the wreckage from the river [August 26, 2004] |
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Cutting torch on main span A worker sitting on the main span's lower chord sends sparks flying with a cutting torch [August 31, 2004] |
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Preparing the main spans A barge backs up to the bridge as workers prepare the main spans for the coming pyrotechnics show [August 31, 2004] |
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No fear of heights A worker walks along the top of the bridge [September 7, 2004] |
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Strategic girder cuts In the days leading up to the third blast, workers cut strategic notches in the girders. When the explosives go off, the superstructure will split into many smaller pieces, making it easier to quickly retrieve them from the river floor. [September 8, 2004] |
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Phase 3: Day before The main span on the Missouri side, with the deck totally removed, is only hours away from history. [September 8, 2004] |
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Phase 3: Before All eyes are on the westernmost span just before detonation... [September 9, 2004] |
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Phase 3: After ...Which goes according to plan... |
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Phase 3: Oops! ...But in the process also wipes out the other two remaining spans. This wasn't quite what the demolition contractor had in mind. |
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Phase 3: Barges move into position Barges quickly move into position to begin the task of clearing debris from the navigation channel |
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Phase 3: Debris in main channel The debris left in the main channel was extensive, but the demolition crews were at least prepared for this |
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Phase 3: Close-up of second span The second span collapsed in the middle, barely a split second after detonation of the first span |
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Phase 3: Close-up of damaged pier As the second span collapsed, it kicked over much of Pier 2, and yet somehow the end of the span still came to rest on the remnants of the pier |
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Phase 3: Close-up of third span One end of the third span was subsequently pushed off its pier, dropping it into the river in one piece |
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Phase 3: Lifting pieces from river A crane mounted on a barge lifts a piece from the bottom of the river [September 9, 2004, around 12:30 PM] |
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Phase 3: Hauling pieces to shore Once lifted, the barge transports the piece to the Illinois shore |
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Phase 3: Overview of mess from new bridge Many people who watched the blast from the riverfront headed to the new bridge to survey the mess from there. And what a mess it was! |
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Phase 3: View from Aquamsi Street at sunset At sunset, the whole scene is still a mess. [September 9, 2004, around 6:30 PM] |
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Phase 3: River still closed Barge traffic backs up on both sides because of the unexpected delay [September 9, 2004, about 7:00 PM] |
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Phase 3: Day after Work to clean up the river's main channel takes longer than expected, far surpassing the demolition company's original 24-hour deadline [September 9, 2004, around 6:15 PM] |
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Arch to nowhere The view from Morgan Oak Street looks much different now [September 10, 2004] |
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Phase 3: River reopened After struggling to remove the wreckage from the main channel, barge traffic resumes Saturday afternoon [September 11, 2004, about 6:30 PM] |
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Phase 4: Preparations With the help of a crane, workers plant explosives on the mangled Span 3 as they get ready to blast it into more manageable pieces [September 22, 2004] |
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Phase 4: Before The demolition crew is minutes away from pushing the button on another blast [September 23, 2004] |
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Phase 4: After The span is blown apart in a surprisingly loud blast |
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Phase 4: The aftermath Barges and workers quickly move into position to start pulling pieces from the wreckage out of the water |
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Phase 4: Stub of remaining pier The fourth blast took out most of the pier above the water line [September 29, 2004] |
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Scrap on Illinois shore Even at this point, the worksite on the Illinois side is still a mess [September 29, 2004] |
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Pulling wreckage from Missouri shore A crane carries one of the last remaining pieces that landed on the Missouri shore during Phase 3 [September 28, 2004] |
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Phase 5: Preparations A bucket lifts a worker into position over the mangled wreckage to plant dynamite [September 28, 2004] |
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Phase 5: Before Another day, another sunrise pyrotechnics show on the Riverfront [September 29, 2004] |
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Phase 5: After Unlike previous blasts, this one was on time. But it didn't quite finish the job -- a portion of the span continued to lean against the pier [September 29, 2004] |
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Phase 5: The aftermath The mess left after the blast is seen from the new bridge [September 29, 2004] |
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Phase 5(b): Second blast Not all of the explosives detonated during the morning blast, so workers performed another blast at 12:50 PM. There's no point in showing before and after pictures; the wreckage didn't move much [September 29, 2004] |
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Phase 5: Cleanup The last pieces of wreckage from Span 2 are lifted from the river [October 5, 2004] |
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Drilling on Pier 3 Working from the top of the pier, the construction crew drills holes in the concrete to make room for the explosives [October 25, 2004] |
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Pier 1 standing alone With the approach partially removed, the pier on the Missouri shore now stands alone [November 1, 2004] |
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Approach hanging in mid-mid The approach is still standing, despite one end hanging precariously in mid-air [November 1, 2004] |
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Approach section removed One chunk of the deck plate girder from the Missouri approach has been removed, leaving the rest cantilevered in place [November 1, 2004] |
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Deck girder spans removed The rest of the deck plate girder spans are removed and lifted into a trailer [November 9, 2004] |
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Another view of concrete wreckage The whole mess appears rather unstable [November 26, 2004] |
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Concrete approach destroyed Three of the six concrete approach spans are decimated by a wrecking ball [November 26, 2004] |
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Only one span left All but one of the concrete approach spans is hauled away. What little remains standing will be preserved as part of a small memorial to the bridge [December 1, 2004] |
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Tearing apart Pier 1 A worker uses a jackhammer to tear about Pier 1. [January 4, 2005] |
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Pier 1 flattened After a few days work, the pier is totally demolished. [January 7, 2005] |
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Expansion joint An expansion joint lies on the ground, awaiting cleanup. [January 25, 2005] |
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Remains of pier one The rubble from Pier 1 is crushed and spread around the site. [February 11, 2005] |
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Illinois approach removed By now the pavement on the Illinois side has been removed. [February 15, 2005] |
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Final blast: Before This is it, the final explosion to remove the center pier. [March 12, 2005] |
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Final blast: After The blast created a loud boom and a noxious cloud, but the scene didn't change much. |
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Pier 2 cleanup A crane mounted on a barge is used to fish out the rubble from Pier 2. [March 15, 2005] |
I have always gone under the bridge on the Illinois side to go 4 wheelin' and dirt bikin'. I have been known a time or two to get stuck down there. I have built bonfires and have tailgate parties with a few friends. I would have to say...most of memories of back home were under that bridge. I'm glad I was a part of it.
I remember crossing this when I was younger (probably in the mid 1990s). This bridge was a louder bridge to cross than most, and I looked out of the car to see why: large portions of the floor were metal grates, through which you could see the waters below.
After that, I never really cared to cross the bridge. At least the other ones I had crossed didn't have water visible directly underneath the car.
That old bridge was always scary to cross. Way too narrow. Even as a teenager, I was having a hard time keeping the car within the lane without driving off the side or hitting someone head on. Know a few people killed crossing the bridge. But, it was historical. Another piece of Cape Girardeau history sorry to see go. They could have kept it as a one-way bridge.
That was 1 old Bridge.
One early memory, as a kid,
was the thrill of going fast,
with a friend;"Doc", driving his
"souped-up" 71 El Cameno SS, from
the MO. side up to the first ramp
so as to actually go airbourn!
...At least for a few secounds.
ok,
He had to get a runup to it.
;)
Well, it was fun.
