ICYMI: ENERGETIC FELLING OF THE OLD KOSCIUSZKO BRIDGE (Video)

AERIAL DRONE FOOTAGE OF ENERGETIC FELLING OF THE OLD KOSCIUSZKO BRIDGE STEEL TRUSS SPANS

On Sunday, Governor Cuomo and hundreds of New Yorkers assembled to watch the energetic felling of the old steel truss spans of the Kosciuszko Bridge in both Brooklyn and Queens.

AERIAL DRONE FOOTAGE of the energetic felling is available on YouTube here

Controlled Demolition Safest, Most Effective, Fastest Way to Demolish Old Kosciuszko Bridge

First Ever Implosion of Major Bridge Using Explosives in New York City

944 Linear Shaped Charges Strategically Placed on Bridge; Over 1,600 Cuts in Steel Members to Weaken the Steel for Controlled Amount of Charges to Sever the Steel

20 Steel Truss Spans Dropped – Total Length of 3,100 Feet or Nearly Two-Thirds Mile – Fall Intact for Minimal Dust and No Flying Debris

Energetic felling is the chosen process because it is the safest, quickest, most effective way to demolish the old bridge that is the least intrusive to the surrounding community. The felling is part of the $873 million Kosciuszko Bridge project, which is replacing the former 78-year-old bridge with two new state-of-the-art, cable-stayed bridges. The felling was the first ever implosion of a major bridge infrastructure using explosives in New York City. The state-of-the-art new twin span Kosciuszko Bridge has been expedited and is scheduled to be completed in 2019, a full four years ahead of the original project schedule.

“After years of stagnation and stunted ambition, we are building across the state bigger and better than before, and the energetic felling of the old bridge to make way for the new, on budget and ahead of schedule bridge, showcases our renewed commitment to building new, inspiring infrastructure for the future,” Governor Cuomo said. “The new cable-stayed bridge is a monument that brings people together, straddling two boroughs that have welcomed generations of immigrants from all over the globe.”

Governor Cuomo opened the first span of the new Kosciuszko Bridge in April, celebrating completion of the $555 million first phase of the project, the largest single contract the New York State Department of Transportation has ever undertaken. The Queens-bound bridge is carrying three travel lanes in each direction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.