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Watch: Underwater explosion in the Mississippi clears bridge pier

It wasn’t quite as spectacular as the full demolition of the Savanna-Sabula bridge, but the underwater explosion of a remaining concrete bridge pier on Ma...

SAVANNA, Illinois -- It wasn't quite as spectacular as the full demolition of the Savanna-Sabula bridge, but the underwater explosion of a remaining concrete bridge pier on March 16th was pretty compelling on its own.

While the main event was dropping the steel truss and bridge deck into the Mississippi River below, work continues to remove concrete and steel from the river.

A spokesperson from the Illinois Department of Transportation said work to remove concrete piers would continue through March.

Metal, concrete and other debris was being removed from the river and put on barges for scrap, keeping the navigation channel clear for barge traffic.

Relive the Savanna-Sabula bridge demolition from multiple angles here.

The bridge, built in 1932 and infamous for its narrow lanes and metal grid bridge deck, is being replaced by a new $80.6 U.S. 52-Illinois 64 bridge.

The mayor of Savanna, Chris Lain, said the new bridge would open sometime in the spring of 2018.

Lain also said that a local artist was working to design a sculpture made from old pieces of the bridge.  The preliminary plans for the sculpture was to depict a nest with an eagle inside on top of some old beams.   It was expected to be set along Savanna's riverfront in Marquette Park.

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