Newport Bridge Demolition Will Continue Monday Night

Only half of the south portion of the Newport Road bridge remains after the first phase of demolition, which took place Friday night. The rest of that portion of the bridge will come down Monday night. Photo courtesy of Russ Kirk

Demolition of the south side of the Newport Road bridge over Interstate 215 is half completed and the other half will come down Monday night, according to a city official.

Gina Gonzalez, the City of Menifee contact for the 215/Newport Interchange Project, said the scheduled demolition of the second half of the south bridge was delayed Saturday night because of inclement weather. It is scheduled to take place Monday night between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.

The bridge is being widened as part of a $48.4 million reconstruction of the freeway interchange, featuring a wider bridge and looping on-ramps. The current bridge is actually two bridges, built in two phases as traffic demands increased. The south bridge is being demolished and the north bridge will be expanded.

Completion date for the project is October or November. During Monday night's demolition, freeway traffic will be diverted via the off- and on-ramps to go around the construction.