Staff report
A controlled blast demolished the World War Veterans’ Memorial Bridge over the Licking River, linking Covington and Newport, Monday morning. The third of three bridges over the Licking River has served the region for nearly 90 years.
An observer, who sheltered safely in his condo in the old Booth Hospital, said he heard a “thunderclap” and saw dust — and that it was over in seconds.
A controlled blast, executed perfectly by KYTC engineers, was the safest way to demolish an old bridge and make way for a new one.
“This type of controlled demolition is a common practice for large structures to reduce risk to work crews by minimizing their exposure to hazardous work compared to removing heavy steel piece by piece,” said Bob Yeager, KYTC District 6 Chief District Engineer, earlier.
Crews placed carefully engineered charges at specific locations on the bridge to cleanly sever steel supports so the structure fell safely into the river below where contractors will recover the steel. That will take about four days.
Construction of the new bridge was estimated to be completed by Fall 2028, but the controlled blast — which took about 10 seconds — may speed up the project.
Goodbye old bridge — Photos by KYTC District 6
Hello, new bridge #4 — image provided by KYTC District 6
