After switching from conventional to explosive demolition, the contracting consortium building the new 3-mile-long Mario M. Cuomo Bridge over the Hudson River in New York finally brought down the east section of the main span of the old Tappan Zee Bridge. The subcontractor responsible, Controlled Demolition Inc., set off the charges on Jan. 15 as several thousand freezing onlookers watched from the distant river banks. With traffic on the new bridge halted for the blast, the viewers watched the smoke from the double explosions and the steel bridge section descending to river level for a few seconds before the boom of the detonations reached their ears.