Demolition efforts for the bridge near the failed Rapidan Dam are underway in Blue Earth County. On Wednesday, controlled explosives went off, severing the bridge beams of County Road 9, just a short distance away from the Rapidan Dam.

The first explosives charge at the bridge rang out like a starting gun, followed by the ratatat drumbeat of smaller explosions. The smoke cleared, revealing the concrete and steel beams of County Road 9 Bridge now resting in the river valley below.

A thunderous boom and a large billow of dark-gray smoke rising in the air marked the quick demise of steel beams that had held up the Blue Earth

The roadway surface and the majority of the bridge structure was removed over the last several weeks, with the steel support beams the only remaining bridge component spanning the

Faced with the task of replacing a flood-damaged bridge, and removing a breached dam, county officials face the prospect of more spring floods and an uncertain timeline.

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - A subcontractor of the company hired to remove the County Road 9 bridge over the Blue Earth River is using explosive charges to sever and fall the bridge.

A subcontractor of the company hired to remove the County Road 9 bridge over the Blue Earth River used explosive charges to sever and fall the bridge. The roadway surface and the majority of the bridge structure were removed over the last several weeks. All that remained were the bridge’s steel support beams.

The Bloomington-based engineering firm on Tuesday received a $1.47 million contract to draft plans for the removal of the dam, which spans the Blue Earth River west of Mankato. Th