At
the crack of dawn on October 16, 2002 Demtech, Inc. of Blue
Springs, Missouri felled the 750-foot long Memorial Bridge
in Radford, Virginia USA.
The over-deck
truss span stood 100 feet over the New River, and had a total
weight of 350,000 pounds. Demtech designed the explosive felling
to remove all three sections simultaneously, attaching a total
of 96 RDX linear shaped charges to critical support beams
throughout the structure.
Various
contracting teams worked through an unusually high level of
anxiety during the pre-cutting, explosives loading and community
outreach processes, as the Virginia Sniper attacks were affecting
the region at this same time.
Nonetheless,
the project went off as planned with no delays or complications
reported.
