Bridges are set to come down starting this week as crews make progress on the Interstate 10 Broadway Curve improvement project.

The removal of the 48th Street and Broadway Road bridges, which have carried motorists over I-10 for more than five decades, is scheduled for the weekend of April 21-24, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The new bridges opened to traffic in early 2023 and were constructed as part of the I-10 Broadway Curve project, ADOT’s largest urban freeway reconstruction project to date. 

The demolition will take several steps beginning with an inspection by ADOT and the developer in charge of the project.

Next, construction crews will close I-10 in both directions, according to ADOT. The condition of the pavement under the bridges will be inspected and documented prior to the bridge removal to ensure the roadway does not get damaged during the removal process.  

Crews will lay a foot of aggregate – rocks and sand - on top of the pavement under the bridges as a protective layer.

Then begins munching and shearing, state transportation officials said.

Munching is the method for removing the concrete bridge deck, and shearing is the term used for cutting and removing the steel girders. 

Excavators with a munching attachment will break down the concrete bridge deck, and excavators with a shearing attachment will cut the existing girders, according to ADOT.

The steel girders will be cut into sections less than 38 feet and hauled away for disposal. Whenever possible, ADOT officials said the state reuses materials from project sites.