Deconstructing the Sprague Street Bridge

It's kind of sad watching the Sprague Street Bridge in Readville come down. Not only does it just feel like it belongs where it is - a faded relic of a faded industrial past right in the middle of a train yard/junction - it has all these really cool shapes and angles that will be replaced by some boring looking concrete thing. At the same time, if it must come down, a temporary pedestrian bridge next to the old span lets you get a really interesting, up close view of a bridge being slowly taken apart.

The bridge seems to be held together mainly by these large bolts (and a massive stone column in the middle of the span). Behind them, you can see where the road used to be.

The state shut the 100-year-old bridge in January; it will take two years to tear it down and replace it:

Look out at the train bridge going into Readville station, and you think you're in a model-train set:

Whoa! Do pedestrians need to wear respirators as they cross the train tracks?

The newer steel pilings help hold up the banks that support the ends of the temporary pedestrian bridge:

Pre-demolition photos.