OAKMONT (KDKA/AP) – PennDOT will implode the 107-year-old Hulton Bridge in Oakmont on Jan. 26.

The bridge is being destroyed because a replacement span built next to it is now open to traffic and substantially complete.

“We’re looking at mid-morning on Tuesday the 26th,” said PennDOT’s Steve Cowan. “A major snowstorm or an ice storm could postpone that.”

PennDOT will keep people 1,000 feet away from the blast and close nearby Route 28 for 15 minutes to ensure motorist safety. Students at nearby Riverview High School will be moved to another building during the detonation.

“We are going to implement the safety zone at 7 a.m. and start closing down roadways around 9:30 a.m.,” Cowan said.

Traffic coming through Oakmont will be allowed to turn up Hulton Road, but not towards the river.

Once the bridge blows and lands in the icy waters of the Allegheny River, an inspection will be done to make sure everything went as planned.

“The blasting subcontractor will make sure the explosives went off, we’ll do an inspection of the Hulton Bridge, and if everything’s okay, we’ll release traffic,” Cowan said.

Brayman Construction Corp. is handling the implosion. The new $66 million bridge is open, though one of its new lanes remains closed while crews complete connecting roads on the Oakmont side of the bridge.

The bridge spans the Allegheny River between Oakmont and Harmar Township.

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