A commuter wins a contest to blow up a section of a hated Potomac River bridge.

The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge first opened in 1961 with four lanes. It was designed to carry 75,000 cars per day, but that number has increased to 200,000.

Maryland resident Dan Ruefly pushed a ceremonial plunger at 12:34 a.m., setting off flashes on the underside of the bridge. The steel girders of that section collapsed, as onlookers cheered.

Ruefly says, "It's past due. It was past due a couple of years after it was built."

The bridge is notorious for being one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in the region.

Eight lanes of traffic around Washington, D.C. are funneled into six lanes. Gridlock can stretch for miles when the drawbridge is raised to let boats through.

Regional authorities have been building a $2.4 billion, 12-lane replacement to the bridge since 2000. It will be able to carry 300,000 cars per day.