Contactors Implode 78-Year-Old Kosciuszko Bridge

The implosion of the Kosciuszko Bridge completed the $555-million first phase of the bridge replacement project.

NEW YORK CITY—In what state officials say was the first implosion of a major bridge in New York City, contractors on Sunday morning successfully took down approximately three-quarters of a mile of the old Kosciuszko Bridge between Brooklyn and Queens.

State and city officials were on hand for the implosion that involved approximately 22 million pounds of steel. The implosion process called “energetic felling” was part of the $873 million Kosciuszko Bridge project, which is replacing the former 78-year-old bridge with two new state-of-the-art, cable-stayed bridges.