Demolition efforts for the bridge near the failed Rapidan Dam are underway in Blue Earth County.

On Wednesday, controlled explosives went off, severing the bridge beams of County Road 9, just a short distance away from the Rapidan Dam.

The explosion followed weeks of careful work to remove the bridge’s roadway surface and most of its bridge deck.

It’s part of a massive project to replace the bridge and remove the Rapidan Dam, which failed in June 2024 when Minnesota saw massive flooding across the state.

Governor Tim Walz visited the site ahead of the demolition in January, announcing a proposal of up to $10 million as part of a bonding bill to help with the renovation project.

The county hopes to have the new bridge built and ready for use by 2027.

Removing the dam is another question altogether, as Ryan Thilges, director of Public Works at Blue Earth County, said there’s still work to do to determine the price tag.

“We are working through the process to figure out the cost of the removal of the actual dam,” Thilges said.

In the coming weeks, Blue Earth County said contractors would work to remove the bridge beam debris and begin demolishing the standing bridge piers.

Still, questions remain around the costly disaster, as former dam workers told 5 INVESTIGATES could have been mitigated if the county had been more proactive.

“It was all completely avoidable. They did no debris mitigation,” said Ron Jordan, former operator of the Rapidan Dam.

The county disputes those claims, but it still has a costly problem on its hands.

Previous estimates to remove the dam before the failure put the cost at more than $60 million dollars.