After the new south bridge opened to traffic Sept. 9, the partial demolition of the old Fillmore/I-25 bridge`s northly half got under way the afternoon of Sept. 10 and then continued through the night.

Motorists Sept. 11 found that northside deck gone and nothing left but the structure itself amid a maze of rebar.

That remainder of the old bridge`s north side is to be knocked away in the coming week in the next phase of the operation. The schedule tentatively calls for that to occur overnight Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 14-15.

The reason the north half of the old bridge is being taken off is to make room for the new north bridge, which needs to be built in that space, according to Ted Tjerandsen of Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) project consultant Wilson & Company.

The south bridge opening/old-bridge partial demo is a milestone in the $15.1 million project to replace the 55-year-old Fillmore interchange. CDOT hired SEMA Construction as the general contractor. The demolition contractor is Backhoe Services of Commerce City.

The latest milestone has been achieved in the Fillmore/I-25 interchange project, with the successful removal of the northern, 45-foot-wide segment of the old bridge.

Overnight work in two phases over the past two weeks got the job done the night of Sept. 16, although final demolition work on the east and west sides of the traffic lanes will continue for several days, according to David Ramsdale, whose Backhoe Services company handled the operation, using a variety of heavy equipment.

This should mean the end of overnight closures at the interchange for at least a few weeks, according to a spokesperson for SEMA Construction, the project contractor for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). In the meantime, eastbound traffic will be using the new south bridge (completed in early September) while westbound traffic will use the remaining 28-foot width of the old bridge.