Thousands Line The River To Watch The Old I-74 Bridge Explosion

In this day of live streaming, it's easy to watch any event from the comfort of your bed at 7:30 in the morning.  But that's not what thousands of Quad Citizens wanted to do the morning of June 18th when the Helm Group demolished part of the old I-74 bridge.  Yes, only part.

As you can see below, they only blew up part of the bridge.  This means there will be another chance for you to line the streets or decide to stay in bed and watch the show.

On the streets and in the river

Even though officials asked people to stay home and watch online, that didn't stop the crowds.  The side streets were filled with parked cars.  The sidewalks were packed with pedestrians.  Even River Drive had people that just decided to stop and watch from the road.

And in a flash, it was over with many people saying "Was that it?".

Watch part of the old bridge come down.

When people think of demolitions they think of things like this.  Massive stadiums that are there one minute and completely gone the next.

That was not the case with the old I-74 bridge.  First off the concrete pillars still remain on the part they did demo Sunday morning.  Plus, there is still the westbound bridge still standing.

The use of explosives for the westbound bridge cables and towers is anticipated in late summer.

With that said, it was still quite the explosion this morning for the Quad Cities.  Check out some different views and pictures here.

For further information and updates on the demolition progress, please visit www.I74RiverBridge.com.