Night time blast sends north bound lane of the Red River bridge plummeting
August 24, 2011
Clarksville, TN – Bell & Associates Construction blasted out the remaining concrete columns and the roadway support beams on the north bound lane of the Red River Bridge in a tremendous explosion early on the morning of Wednesday, August 24th, 2011. The explosion took place at 12:02am during which time traffic on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard was completely shutdown.
The demolition was handled by explosives technicians from Engineered Explosive Services. The process first involved cutting almost completely through the massive steel support beams, then placing shaped cutting charges to finish the job. The support columns had been pre-drilled to allow explosive charges to be placed inside. Once that was complete, all equipment located on or near the bridge had to be removed. Then after a final safety check, it was time for the blast.
