The Kosciuszko Bridge will be blown to bits — well, part of it — on the same day as the city’s 80th Pulaski Day Parade honoring the bridge’s Polish namesake.
Local officials said the partial demolition will happen at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1 as part of an overhaul project that will focus on two old sections of the historic bridge, dnainfo.com reported. Nearby, on 5th Avenue, New Yorkers will gather to enjoy the Pulaski Day Parade which this year has the theme “Tadeusz Kosciuszko — Hero of Two Nations.”
The Pulaski Parade has been held annually since 1937, two years before the Kosciuszko Bridge was built.
Thanks to the demolition, New Yorkers should prepare for traffic detours near the bridge, as city officials said they will close several roads due to falling debris from the implosion.
Parts of the bridge were originally supposed to be blown up over the summer, but the project was delayed. For 78 years, the Kosciuszko Bridge has connected Brooklyn and Queens, and residents there are not overly thrilled about the demolition plan.
People in those boroughs have reportedly voiced concerns about air quality and pollution, NBC New York reported. But state officials have said it’s safer and faster to implode the bridge rather than take it apart piece by piece.
After the $500 million renovation is completed in 2020 motorists will have access to two new spans of bridge.
