CLEVELAND (AP) Demolition crews May 1 succeeded in their second try to bring down what remained of a stubbornly sturdy but crumbling 75-year-old bridge. A new, similarly designed bridge is expected to take its place late in 2009.

On April 28, a series of controlled blasts failed to topple the Fulton Road Bridge over Big Creek and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The bridge, in disrepair for years, closed to traffic in October.

The demolition crew took care in bringing down the 50 million-lb. (22 million kg) concrete and steel structure so as not to harm the homes, zoo animals, the creek and railroad tracks underneath.

Cuyahoga County Engineer Robert Klaiber said the county worked with the Ohio Department of Transportation on the $46.4 million replacement project. Federal, state, Cuyahoga County and city money are paying for the replacement and to place a multipurpose trail beneath it.

A detonation wiring problem was the cause for only part of the bridge coming down previously.

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