A portion of the Muskingum River, in the southern half of the county, will be closed to boat traffic all day Friday.

Crews will be working to remove the final remnants of the former Duncan Falls, Philo Bridge.

Following the opening of the Michael J. Lutz Memorial bridge last October, the former bridge was slated to be demolished.

Built in 1954, the crossing connected the two river-side towns of Duncan Falls and Philo.

In mid-December last year, explosives were used to take a majority of the structure down.

Muskingum County Engineer Mark Eicher previously told Y-City News that one of the last parts of the entire project will be to remove the swing span portion of the bridge that was not exploded last winter.

Crews will be completing that task Friday. In an abundance of caution, boat traffic will be restricted around the structure. No explosives are expected to be used.

Traffic traveling across the new bridge should not be impacted during the process.