Hulton Bridge successfully demolished
After serving as the “lavender link” between Oakmont and Harmar, the 107-year-old Hulton Bridge was blown off its piers by more than 500 precisely placed explosives Tuesday morning.
The demolition went off early and without a hitch at 9:49 as part of the final phase of the $66 million project to build a new bridge beside the stately but tired truss span.
“It looks like somebody literally took it off the piers and sat it in the river,” said Dan Cessna, PennDOT District 11 executive. “From (the route 28 viewing area), it looks like a successful drop.”
The implosion had been scheduled for 10 a.m., but went off 10 minutes early. Cessna said once everything was prepared, there was no reason to wait.
Although the implosion knocked the bridge's steel bones into the river, it's not quite down yet. Portions of the steel arches poke out of the river, where the maximum depth is only 18 feet.
Route 28, which was closed for less than 15 minutes, reopened minutes after the implosion.
Cessna said crews are inspecting the old bridge to insure all charges detonated and if they did, Freeport Road should reopen around 10 a.m. The new Hulton Bridge and Hulton Road reopened just before 11:30.
Police started clearing people from a 1,000-foot safety zone around the bridge about 7:30 a.m.
But that didn't stop several hundred onlookers from witnessing the demolition spectacle from the streets of Oakmont and Route 28.
The contractor, Brayman Construction, ran a live video feed for the Riverview school students, who led the countdown to detonate the bridge explosives.
Route 28 and other nearby roads were shut down, and students from Riverview Junior-Senior High School and some homeowners were evacuated from the explosion's 1,000 safety range.
The students, who were moved to the 10 Street Elementary School and another Oakmont building, are expected to return to the junior-senior high school in time for lunch.
The Harmar eagles, whose nest is well within the 1,000-foot safety perimeter, are safe, according to the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
The society's eagle cam website reported the pair was seen mating this morning and afterward, adjourned down river near the Fox Chapel Yacht Club. A staff member who saw them reported the pair “didn't even flinch” when the explosion occurred.
