7 a.m. detonation draws crowd

Hundreds of people in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois set their alarms a little earlier Thursday to witness -- and hear -- something much louder than the buzz, whir or chime from a clock.

What they came for was a blast, the second in a series of demolitions that are taking down the old Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau.

A 314-foot span of the 76-year-old bridge went splashing into the river about 30 minutes later than its sunrise-scheduled time. The delay came partly because crews were still placing dynamite on the bridge. Unlike the first implosion Aug. 3, this one required dynamite to be placed on the trusses instead of in the piers.

Also, a crane that had been used to lay the explosive charges had to be moved into the river channel before the blast could happen. That same crane will be used to remove the debris from the river.

No one seemed to mind the delay. People kept coming to the riverfront even after 6:30 a.m. hoping to catch a glimpse of the blast. As crews with the Missouri Department of Transportation communicated with hand-held radios, someone began counting down to the blast. There was a few seconds delay between the actual firing and the implosion. Dust began to fly and the steel trusses dropped into the Mississippi River, all of it followed by a loud boom.

All traffic in the river stopped by 6:30 a.m., and traffic on the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge was halted for the duration of the implosion.

Scott Meyer, MoDOT district engineer, said it was a little surprising to see such a crowd early in the morning. But he knew people would be interested.

During every presentation at a school while the Emerson Bridge was under construction, children always had questions about the demolition of the old bridge, he said.

"Maybe we're all just little kids" who like to see things blow up, he said. "It happens all of a sudden and you get few chances to see it."

Three more blasts are scheduled though no dates have yet been set.

John David Fisher would have been too far away in his Sikeston, Mo., home to have appreciated the demolition's noise Thursday. So the 10-year-old convinced his mother, Terri Upchurch, and his sister, Rocquelle Fisher, to drive to Cape Girardeau by 6:30 a.m.

"He said 'Mom, I've got to go so I can tell the kids at school what I saw,'" Upchurch said.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

The blast as seen from the air (photo by Joel Ray):

Ground level view of the implosion (photo by Don Frazier):

Browse a Quicktime video clip of the blast