The remaining two spans of what was once the only vehicle bridge spanning the Missouri
River between Sioux City, IA and Great Falls, MT fell into the water today after a series of about 300 detonations broke it into countless pieces. Both local television stations broadcast the event live and just before the plunger made contact, I turned the sound off my tv set to hear for myself the energy that was uncapped. As the proverbial crow flies, I sit about a mile away from the scene, and the slower sound took two or three seconds to get to me; it was loud, something like a kettle drum roll or a nearby thunder clap.
An employee of the state historical society stood with the reporter from the station I watched and gave interesting perspective about the bridge which bore the name Liberty Memorial Bridge, so-named to honor veterans of World War I. He said that with two years of the 1923 opening of the bridge, 2200 vehicles were crossing it each day. Designed for cars like the Model T or the Model A of the period, the span became increasingly out-dated with heavier vehicles crossing it in later years.
Animal rights people complained after the first event a couple of weeks ago. Clouds of pigeons swarmed out of the section that time with the explosions, and I heard some concerns also stated about the fish underneath. To appease the critics this time, bottle rockets were set off to scare the birds away, although it looked like thy just flew in a circle and settled back in. They said something was done about the fish's safety, too.
The best story of the day featured a 98 year old man who remembered the bridge construction when he was 12 years old. He said he asked a construction worker at that time how long the new bridge would last and was assured it would stand longer than he would. There he stood, though, in his walker being steadied by a man on each side, with the key words: there he stood.
