Well it looks like Caltrans has found a winning method for removing the remaining piers that used to support the Bay Bridge's rickety eastern span. As they report, that "bubble curtain" that got much talked about in the weeks leading up to the implosion of the E3 pier two weeks ago was so effective that no fish were harmed in the implosion. That's what Caltrans officials said, anyway, on Tuesday, and NBC Bay Area has it that there was minimal impact to wildlife and water quality overall.

The implosion, using 400 small explosives set into the concrete, lasted six seconds and caused the concrete and steel pier to collapse into its own cavities, and down into the soft mud of the Bay.

Wildlife observers were dispatched to the area to look out for mammals like sea lions, and they then kept watch for several days afterward, and observed no deaths.

There was an assumption ahead of the implosion that at least 1,775 endangered longfin smelt in the Bay would be killed by the event, but that doesn't appear to be the case at all.

I do have to wonder how Caltrans managed to monitor the entire Bay in the hours and days after the event to make this statement, but that is what they're saying.

Bay Bridge chief engineer Brian Maroney said in a statement, "As we collect and organize information on the implosion, we are seeing more and more data that is building documentation that this method can be the best way to remove such large piers from the bay waters."

Previously: Video: Long-Awaited Bay Bridge Implosion Goes Off Without A Hitch