Happy Fourth of July!

If you gotta go, go big. This explosive video is two years old, but makes just as big of a bang today.
Happy Fourth of July!

MoDOT Demolishes, then Recycles, Route 40 Bridge

Everyone knows you can recycle that old cereal box, your soda can from dinner and even a glass bottle, but what about a bridge? Yeah, you can recycle that! On July 10, the MoDOT-Kansas City district demolished the Route 40 bridge over Interstate 435, began the process to recycle 100 percent of the debris.

Built in 1966, the bridge is constructed of materials that are readily recycled today. After demolition, crews will retrieve:

• 2578 tons concrete, which will be used for base rock material or as rock ditch liner,

• 210 tons reinforcing steel, will be collected and delivered to a recycler,

• 579 feet of aluminum handrail, will also be collected and delivered to a recycler.

“Recycling our materials is a priority in this job,” Said MoDOT Construction and Materials Engineer Perry Allen. “One hundred percent of this bridge is recyclable and we plan to salvage all 100 percent.”

Large-scale recycling is not a new concept for the department. MoDOT leads the nation in the number of recycled roof shingles added to asphalt mixtures.

• 325,000 tons of concrete and asphalt were recycled and reused during the reconstruction of a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 64 in St. Louis.

• When the Route 19 Missouri River Bridge near Hermann was taken down, about 2,000 tons of steel from the structure was recycled.

• MoDOT has used enough recycled tires in its construction projects over the past two years to equip 20,000 cars.

• About 70 percent of state highway signs are produced from reclaimed material.

• Using the latest technology, MoDOT can actually recycle entire asphalt roads.

Bridge demolition is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded project to add a third lane to I-70 in each direction and improve the interchange at I-435. It also will include removing and replacing the Blue Ridge Cutoff (George Brett) Bridge over I-70 next year.

More than 50 local citizens and media stayed up into the wee hours on Sunday to watch the explosion, and treated the crew to a rousing round of applause.

Accelerated Innovation

Safe & Sound bridge projects are kicking off across the state. Yesterday, the ribbon was cut on a design-build project completed on Route 61 over Buckeye Creek in Cape Girardeau County. It embodies the goals of the Safe & Sound program by illustrating both flexibility and innovation.

The project was accelerated by one year to accommodate the low weight posting of the previous pony truss bridge. Construction on nearby Interstate 55 that reroutes vehicles over Buckeye Creek meant that an innovative solution was needed quickly.

The pony truss structure was replaced with twin Super Cor structures -- prefabricated metal culverts with concrete retaining walls. It's the first bridge of this type on the Missouri state system. Using the Super Cor components meant the project could be completed more quickly and with less labor.

The picture above shows the demolition of the old pony truss bridge.

The new and improved bridge using the Super Cor structures.

A Blast in Miami

If you talk about having a blast in Miami, chances are your audience is assuming you spent some time cruising South Beach.

Not the case for those who watched the first phase of demolition on the Miami River bridge in Missouri yesterday. Those Chariton county residents watched the excitement closer to home.

Dorothy Clements, a Miami resident, was there to watch the bridge dedication in 1939 and also there yesterday to watch the demolition. View the video below to hear her thoughts.

When the new structure is complete next fall, only the piers will remain from the original structure.