Update, 12:50 p.m.: According to TDOT Spokesperson Kathryn Schulte, steel from the bridge was rigged into 7 different sections, each marked with a buoy for easy pickup.
Cranes, assisted by teams of divers, are working to lift the debris out of the water for proper disposal.
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The old lanes of the McClure Bridge, which carries Highway 48/13 over the Cumberland River south of Clarksville, were blown up at 7 a.m. Thursday morning.
Tennessee Department of Transportation contract crews demolished the older 400-foot span, creating a boom that alarmed neighborhoods on both sides of the river.
The work is part of the widening project on Highways 149 and 13 that has been underway since March 2018. The project includes a new four-lane bridge over the Cumberland to replace the old two-lane McClure Bridge, the release said.
Currently, traffic is using two lanes that have been opened on the newly constructed bridge. The old bridge needs to be taken down in order to complete the new structure.
For more information on the project, go to the TDOT website. The project is estimated to be completed in early 2022.
News partner WKRN, Channel 2 in Nashville contributed to this report.