RAIL, Ore. -- With a precision explosion that tore a rectangle containing 2,836 cubic yards of concrete, the federal government has begun spending $8 million to breach a dam it spent $114 million building.

The blast at 1:35 p.m. Tuesday was the first of 16 planned at what was supposed to be Elk Creek Dam.

The tributary of the Rogue River is home to wild coho salmon that have been returning in smaller numbers as the years go by.

Lawsuits stopped the Army Corps of Engineers from completing the dam in 1986. It was intended for flood control and water supply. No fish ladder was built, and for years trucks hauled salmon around the dam.

Now, the explosions will tear a hole in the middle, which the engineers figured is the easiest and cheapest way to restore the stream channel through the structure and give the salmon access to upstream spawning beds. The work is expected to be done in September.

Two dams downstream on the main stem of the Rogue are also to be removed, including the Savage Rapids Dam.

The blast Tuesday drew oohs and aahs from the crowd assembled for the occasion, with differing perspectives.

George Miller, the project manager, pronounced it a good blast. The resulting pile of gravel matched the "A-1" cell on the grid of the demolition chart.

"It's about what we expected," he said.

Some who live in the dam area pronounced it ridiculous.

"I came because I wanted to see them waste money," said Jim Brewer, who lives upstream. "They shouldn't have blown it up. They should have finished it."

Wild salmon advocate Bob Hunter pronounced it a "really exciting" blast.

"It's nice to see the end of a major threat to wild salmon in the Rogue Basin," Hunter said. "It's a good day for the Rogue."