2 blasts take down final remnants of Old U.S. 60 Cumberland River “Smithland” Bridge

(KBSI) – Two blasts took down the final remnants of the old U.S. 60 Cumberland River “Smithland” Bridge Saturday morning.

The main piers were the last remaining sections of a structure that opened to traffic in 1931.

The new U.S. 60 Cumberland River Bridge was closed for about 20 minutes, once at 9 a.m. and again at 12:45 p.m. to allow explosive demolition of the final pieces of the old bridge structure.

The demolition contractor will now use excavator-mounted jackhammers to break up the remaining sections of the concrete piers, according to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Some sections of the old piers will have to be retrieved from the river.

The blasts were monitored by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Jim Smith Contracting, Livingston County Emergency Management, the Kentucky Division of Mine Reclamation and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The new U.S. 60 Cumberland River “Smithland” Bridge at Smithland, also known as the Jim R. Smith Memorial Bridge, opened to traffic on May 15, 2023.

The new bridge is at U.S. 60 Livingston County mile point 12.348. It is a 1,912 fott structure with a 700 foot main truss and 40 foot wide deck was constructed by Jim Smith Contracting of Grand Rivers.

About 5,100 vehicles cross the Smithland Bridge on an average day. It is at Cumberland River navigation mile point 2.7.