Crews demolished the second half of a defunct highway bridge over the New River today. The first part of the demolition was completed June 10.

The old 114 Peppers Ferry Road bridge is actually a pair of one-way, two-lane bridges stretched from shore to shore over the New River at the Pulaski County-Montgomery County line. The westbound bridge was damaged by a tall piece of equipment atop a tractor-trailer and closed to traffic in 2002. Eastbound and westbound traffic were each reduced to one lane and routed across the eastbound bridge.

In place of the damaged bridge, crews will place a concrete structure 1,039 feet long with two 12-foot lanes, a 10-foot right shoulder and a six-foot left shoulder. In addition, crews will replace a nearby Peppers Ferry Road bridge over railroad tracks at the same time.

The project -- which will open two lanes to traffic in both directions -- is scheduled for completion by November 2014.

Previous coverage (June 4, 2011): Crews to blast bridge over New River