Cleanup of the debris in the Missouri River continued Wednesday after the first span of the old Memorial Bridge went crashing into the water Monday.

Mike Kopp of the North Dakota Department of Transportation said the main, navigable channel was cleared of steel and other debris within the 24-hour period set by the U.S. Coast Guard.

He said there has been no firm date set as to when the remaining two spans of the old bridge will come down, but it likely will be done sometime before the end of the month.

Kopp also was involved with DOT at the 4 Bears Bridge near New Town when it was demolished.

In that project, he said a formula was used to determine a dollar value for fish that might have been killed during the demolition.

In the case of the Memorial Bridge, Kopp said the North Dakota Game and Fish Department swept through the river with an electro-shock boat, chasing any fish out of the immediate area so there were no losses.

Meanwhile, crews continued fishing twisted steel and other debris out of the river Wednesday.

Jeff Dahn of Total Construction, the Minnesota contractor on the project, said as of about mid-day Wednesday, he estimated about 75 percent of the old bridge had been pulled out of the icy water.

"I think by tomorrow, we should have it out," Dahn said. "Or Friday morning at the latest."

Dahn said the steel is being hauled to Porter Brothers in Bismarck for salvage, but he did not know what the steel was bringing for a price.

With the turmoil in the stock market and Wall Street, he said they haven't been able to get a quote on what the salvage value is for the steel.

"They're not quoting us yet, so I won't know what we're getting until we have all the tickets."

Dahn said he estimated in all, there will be about 2,000 tons of steel salvaged from the old bridge.

(Reach reporter Brian Gehring 250-8254 or brian.gehring@bismarcktribune.com.)