Dozens Gather To Witness Hulton Bridge's Final Moments
OAKMONT (KDKA) - While the implosion of the Hulton Bridge didn't have as much impact on drivers and residents as the recent Greenfield Bridge implosion, it was still something a lot of people wanted to see.
Dozens of spectators lined a temporarily shut down Hulton Road to watch history on Monday morning.
"I got up very early to walk down here to watch it, so I'm very excited and I can't wait," Federico Floccari said.
It's been the talk of Oakmont for quite some time now.
"I've never seen anything blown up like that before and it was a pretty cool thing to see," Eric Neil said.
KDKA's Lynne Hayes-Freeland Reports:
Shawn Oygelski, 11, was there for one reason.
"So I can put it on Instagram," he said.
For 107 years the bridge served the local residents. The engineers that built it could have never known the amount and type of traffic it would have every day.
People like Judi Giovanetti, who lives in the same house she grew up in a few streets away, will miss the view.
"I can see the Hulton Bridge every day of my life and I'm not now," Giovanetti said.
It was a bittersweet moment for some with lots of memories attached.
"It was kind of saddening. I remember walking across that bridge with my mom and it's gone now, but it had it had to go," Deborah Marian said.
And if you weren't able to take a photo for prosperity's sake, don't worry. Just down road, the Oakmont Bakery created the Hulton Bridge cookie.
KDKA's David Highfield Reports:
Sales were so brisk Monday afternoon. The bakery worked hard to keep up with the demand.
Fonda Racchini heard about the cookies on KDKA Radio.
"I have three grandchildren and bought four cookies, so that leaves one for each of them to have, and one for me to decide if I am going to keep it or eat it," she said.
Just about an hour after the implosion, the new Hulton Bridge was reopened to traffic and nearby school students returned to their building for afternoon of classes.
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