Bridge’s eastbound lanes to be blasted

Tracking the boom

People around the area have reported hearing today’s explosion from considerable distances from the bridge. Did you? Let us know where you were if so, and we’ll map the responses to see how far the sound traveled.

The eastbound lanes of the turnpike’s Kansas River bridge are scheduled to drop into history today.

The Kansas Turnpike Authority is scheduled to use explosives to blast the section of the bridge at 10 a.m. on the northern edge of Lawrence.

It’s part of the major construction project to demolish the 50-year-old bridges and build new ones.

Spectators can observe today’s blast from Burcham Park, or watch live streaming video at LJWorld.com.

After the explosion, the bridge will fall into the river, and crews will use cranes to remove the debris after the explosion.

Crews also were scheduled to take out most of the old westbound bridge on Tuesday, but that blast has now been delayed to a future date, turnpike officials said Thursday.