U.S. 69 bridge to close Friday while part of old Platte Purchase Bridge is demolished

The new U.S. 69 Missouri River Bridge that connects Platte and Wyandotte counties will temporarily close Friday so crews can demolish a portion of the old Platte Purchase Bridge.

The bridge will be closed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. so crews can detonate explosives to bring down the middle portion of the Platte Purchase Bridge. Crews are expected to detonate the charges about 9 a.m.

The demolition work is part of the project to replace the Platte Purchase and Fairfax bridges with a single bridge. Construction on the new bridge began in the fall of 2014, and the new bridge opened to both northbound and southbound traffic in late October.

Crews last month used charges to take down the northern part of the Platte Purchase Bridge, which was built in 1957. They will use one more blast later this month or in early January to remove the south end of the bridge.

The Fairfax Bridge, which was built in 1933, was removed early last year.

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 3:19 PM with the headline "U.S. 69 bridge to close Friday while part of old Platte Purchase Bridge is demolished."