Out with the old, in with the new.
The old Kosciuszko Bridge no longer exists.
The 78-year-old bridge connecting Brooklyn and Queens came down this morning in a controlled implosion.
The process used explosives to bring down the 22 million pounds of steel.
Engineers said the implosion was the safest and most effective approach to taking down the old bridge. Hundreds of explosives were strategically placed throughout the structure, before a trigger was pulled at 8 AM Eastern Time, setting off charges that cut through and weakened the steel trusses.
This makes room for construction on the second span of the new bridge to begin.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the new bridge marks the beginning of a series of new infrastructure projects in the city.
“This is not just the bridge … this is in many ways symbolic of all the rebuilding we’re doing … the new LaGuardia, the new JFK … the new Penn Station … and it’s working, and we’re doing it fast, and we’re doing it right, and we’re doing it efficiently, which people don’t expect from government,” the Governor said. “So it feels good.”
The new span, which is part of the multi-billion dollar project, is slated to be fully completed by 2019.
One span of the new bridge opened in April. Governor Cuomo said the old bridge was equipped to handle only 25 percent of the traffic passing over it.
The current span of the Kosciuszko Bridge has six lanes of traffic. Officials say once the construction is complete, the new bridge will have nine lanes and a pedestrian pathway.
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