Collapsed rail bridge gets first of two controlled blasts in clean up after severe flooding

Half of a collapsed railroad bridge connecting South Dakota and Iowa was blown up Monday during a controlled demolition as part of the process to remove the bridge months after it fell into a river swollen by severe flooding.

NORTH SIOUX CITY, SD — Half of a collapsed railroad bridge connecting South Dakota and Iowa was blown up during a controlled demolition as part of the process to remove the bridge months ago after it fell into the riverswollen by severe flooding.

The steel bridge spanning the Big Sioux River connecting North Sioux City, South Dakota, to Sioux City, Iowa, was partially submerged after heavy rains in late June caused record river crests in the two states, along with Minnesota and Nebraska.

The explosion on the South Dakota side of the bridge, owned by BNSF Railway, occurred Monday morning, according to radio station reports KTIV in Sioux City, Iowa. Officials set up a perimeter on both sides of the river, closed nearby roads and advised people to stay away.

“At 9 a.m. local time, charges were successfully deployed to cut the bridge span into pieces, allowing it to fall into the river and be removed,” Kendall Sloan, BNSF communications director, said in a statement.

“Given the condition and position of the failed spans, controlled explosion was the safest method of removal,” Sloan added.

Sloan said crews will use a crane to remove the fallen pieces over the next week and that a second controlled explosion will take place on the Iowa side of the bridge in September.

Amy McBeth, BNSF’s director of public affairs, told KTIV that the controlled demolition had to be done in two parts because a connecting road is needed on both sides to get the heavy equipment to the river.

The design process for a new bridge is underway and reconstruction is expected to take approximately nine months.