The day before the bridge came down…..
photo by Charlie Bargman
Some puffs of smoke, a loud boom and four seconds later the Chester Bridge was in the Mississippi.
Shawnell Madison was on the Chester riverfront and caught some crowd audio of the historic event.
The old Chester Bridge came down Monday morning as thousands of people lined the riverbank to watch the demolition of a landmark that connected Illinois and Missouri for generations.
Under blue skies, the bridge’s steel framework collapsed during the implosion, sending clouds of dust and smoke into the air above the Mississippi River. Local schools closed for the occasion, and school buses were used to transport spectators to the riverfront.
Portions of the bridge were previously cut to make the underwater debris cleanup as manageable as possible. Removal of the fallen truss pieces is expected within 48 hours, and barge traffic may be restricted during that time.
Charlie Bargman has been taking photos of the Chester Bridge for quite a while and it was bittersweet to take photos of it for the last time. He supplied these photos for Sun Times News.
