Slow-motion video: Utica bridge demolished

It was gone in a second. A boom and it was gone.

—  Bill Brown, Utica resident

Chilly early morning temperatures and freezing rain weren’t enough to stop the former Route 178 bridge in Utica from falling down after many gathered early Thursday morning to see it demolished into the Illinois River.

Many Utica residents and out-of-towners set up shop down the road near the Utica Village Hall and surrounding parking lots to say goodbye to the 59-year old bridge.

If you blinked, you may have missed it as detonation occurred just before the 8 a.m. planned schedule. A small flash of light appeared at many points on the structure that was followed by a single solid boom that sounded almost like thunder.

(A video from Scott Anderson slows it down)

“They did a damn good job,” Utica Resident Bill Brown said. “It was gone in a second. A boom and it was gone. It seemed very professional and it wasn’t a great big boom. I guess now the most important thing is to get it out of the river for the fishing tournament tomorrow.”

Brown reminisced about being a kid when the bridge was being built stating that he was glad to see the lifetime of the bridge and mentioned that it had gotten a little bouncy while driving over it the past few years.

“When they built the bridge, all the material came in by train,” Brown said. “They had all the rebar, big stacks of rebar, stored and us as kids would play in the piles of rebar. It was like a maze.”

For many in Utica and from the surrounding area the bridge brought back fond memories as many gathered for its final send off.

Rural Utica Resident Phyllis Mertes came Thursday with her family including her daughter in-law and grandsons. Mertes shared some memories she had of the bridge and what it means to her family.

“My dad was an ironworker on the bridge as I thought, man I’ve got to go watch it,” Mertes said. “He was there when it went up and I got to be there when it comes down. To me it doesn’t feel like it should be old enough to come down. As a kid I remember going across that bridge.”

Mertes mentioned she remembers walking across the bridge as a Girl Scout and said it may not have even been open yet when she did.

Mertes said the moment was “bitter sweet” as her and her family have been tied to the bridge for nearly six decades.

The new bridge opened in October parallel to the former structure.