Collapsed rail bridge gets first of two controlled blasts in clean up after severe flooding

NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. (AP) — Half of a collapsed rail bridge connecting South Dakota and Iowa was blasted Monday in a controlled demolition, part of the process to remove the bridge months after it fell into the river, swollen from severe flooding. The steel bridge over the Big Sioux River connected North Sioux City, South Dakota, with Sioux City, Iowa. It was partially underwater after heavy rains in late June brought record high river crests in the two states, along with Minnesota and Nebraska. The blast on the South Dakota side of the bridge, owned by BNSF Railway, occurred Monday morning. A second controlled blast will target the Iowa side of the bridge, likely in September.