The city says goodbye to an historic bridge, and it's not going out with a bang.

Crews slowly removed the iconic main-span of the old Goethals Bridge between Staten Island and Elizabeth, using a large pulley system — instead of a big explosion.

It took more than eight hours to lower the football-field-sized piece onto a barge. From there it will be shipped out to Port Newark for dismantling and scrap.

Demolition work on the remaining parts of the bridge will continue throughout 2018

The first of two spans of the new Goethals Bridge opened last June.

The second span is expected to be finished later this year.