Kentucky Transportation Cabinet crews are preparing for the controlled demolition to part of the Old Ledbetter Bridge tomorrow morning.
Today, crews are placing explosives at nine key points on the truss closest to the McCracken County shore of the Tennessee River. A controlled explosion will be used to cut the truss into ten 100 ft. sections and knock it into the river
C.J. Mahan Construction Company is conducting the demolition.
The 83-year-old bridge connecting traffic from Paducah to Ledbetter has been closed since the new US 60 Tennessee River Bridge opened in July 2013. Part of the approach span collapsed in June of this year due to a land slide on the McCracken side, expediting plans for demolition.
KYTC is restricting westbound traffic to one lane on the New US 60 Tennessee River Bridge starting at 6 A.M. to allow the public to park along the Livingston County side of the river and watch the demolition from the bridge. The new bridge is 2,000 feet upstream from the old bridge and out of the 1,500 foot clear zone of the blast.
Explosives specialists say about the only thing that might delay the detonation is fog.
There will be a number of audio signals leading up to the detonation which is scheduled for 8 A.M.
