George Ryan, Corridor Manager for the I-74 bridge project, says the Helm Group plans to demolish the east-bound side on a Sunday morning. But the date has not been set.
"They will use explosives to remove the towers and cables. So the DOTs are working on preparing information to put out to the public before this happens. And the public will be notified of any impacts to travel and areas that they can't be in for safety reasons."
When the explosives go off, Ryan says no one - including pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles - will be allowed on the new, I-74 bridge. Traffic on the Mississippi River will also be temporarily halted.
Signs on I-74 will direct interstate traffic to I-80 and I-280. Cars and trucks on I-74 that do not take the bypass can take an exit, or wait.
"Anyone that uses I-74, we'll physically stop them prior to an interchange where they could get off if they wanted to. We anticipate a pretty short term, I want to call it a temporary closure to 74 because we can't really have vehicles on the new bridge when we detonate the towers and cables of the old bridges."
Helm will probably demolish the Iowa-bound side of the old, I-74 bridge late this summer, following the same procedures. The old concrete piers must also be removed from the Mississippi River, except for a pair in the Sylvan Slough where mussel beds are located.
Ryan says the $23 million Helm contract won't be complete until mid-2024. Helm was previously known as Civil Constructors.
