SPRINGVILLE, N.Y. — The New York State Department of Transportation announced Wednesday the demolition of the Old Route 219 bridge over Cattaraugus Creek is scheduled to occur this morning.
The bridge, which has been stripped of its deck, will be imploded nearly 200 feet down into the Zoar Valley Gorge to make way for a new $16.9 million span that is due to be completed in the fall of 2017.
On Tuesday and Wednesday a crew from Controlled Demolition Inc. was packing 35 pounds of explosives at key points on the 58-year-old structure to implode the bridge with a series of timed blasts about 10 a.m. this morning, DOT Communications Director Gary Holmes said Wednesday afternoon.
“They are a top-notch company,” he added.
A 1,500-foot exclusionary zone has been established by the demolition company.
“Safety is paramount,” Holmes said. The DOT has prepared a small viewing area for media and elected officials. State DOT officials have arranged to video the implosion from a 60-foot bucket truck. A live stream was available and a link to the video would also be made available.
As a result of the implosion, several road closures are scheduled to occur, said Regional DOT spokesman Susan Surdej.
At 10 o’clock Thursday morning, Route 219 northbound and southbound and a portion of Scoby Hill Road in the vicinity of Cattaraugus Creek would be closed to all traffic for 30 minutes. This closure also is expected to affect South Cascade Drive and Miller Road traffic that is currently detoured onto Route 219, Surdej said.
Beginning at daybreak Thursday morning, the portion of the Cattaraugus Creek Gorge in the vicinity of the Route 219 Bridge was scheduled to be closed to all watercraft and foot traffic. No watercraft put-ins were permitted this morning anywhere upstream or downstream of the Old Route 219 Bridge.
“These restrictions will be strictly enforced,” Surdej emphasized.
Holmes said there may be rain in the morning, but that will not delay the implosion unless there is thunder and lightning or high winds.
An estimated 25 million pounds of steel will be laying at the bottom of the gorge, some in Cattaraugus Creek.
Holmes said as soon as the dust clears, traffic will resume and crews will start removing the debris with a crane and load it on trucks.
