Highway 23 bridge in St. Cloud is demolished

St. Cloud bridge
The last pier on the Minnesota Highway 23 bridge that spanned the Mississippi River in St. Cloud has been demolished.
MPR Photo/Ambar Espinoza

The old Minnesota Highway 23 bridge that spanned the Mississippi River in St. Cloud has been demolished. On Thursday, crews took down the last remaining pier on the DeSoto Bridge to clear the way for the new bridge.

After drilling the bottom of the pier, workers loaded it with an explosive and set the charges off. The other pier was demolished last week.

The DeSoto bridge was closed to traffic in March after inspectors found four slightly bent gusset plates.

Bridge demolished
The last pier on the Minnesota Highway 23 bridge that spanned the Mississippi River in St. Cloud has been demolished.
MPR Photo/Ambar Espinoza

Transportation officials hope to open the new bridge by November 2009.

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Information from: St. Cloud Times, http://www.sctimes.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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