ROSSFORD, Ohio — Folks in Perrysburg, Rossford, and East Toledo report being woken up early on Sunday morning by a loud boom in the area.
But the explosion (technically, implosion) that happened over the Maumee River wasn’t an emergency.
Instead, it was the planned demolition of the old Michael DiSalle Bridge which took I-75 over the river before construction of the new I-75 bridge.
The implosion took place at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday to make way for construction of the new bridge.
Rebecca D'Angelo, public information officer for ODOT District Two says there were a number of factors that went into choosing 3:30 a.m. as the time to take down the bridge.
She says ODOT coordinated the late-night timing with local law enforcement, the contractor and the Coast Guard to minimize the number of spectators and also to minimize the impact on I-75 traffic.
D'Angelo says they apologize for the nuisance to local residents while acknowledging that "there would never be a 'good' time for local residents".
She says the operation was not widely publicized for the safety of locals and project personnel although local police and fire departments were notified.
The implosion took down the south half of the old bridge.
ODOT says they are about halfway done with the work of widening I-75 in the area, of which the new bridge construction is a part. The project is expected to be finished by the end of 2023.
The north half of the bridge is expected to be taken down sometime next summer.
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