Old 281 bridge could see explosive ending

January 08, 2013, 1:30 pm by Adam Troxtell

The contractor responsible for building the new US 281 bridge in Marble Falls is pushing forward plans to demolish the old bridge using explosives.

Jason Cavness, supervisor of the bridge project for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) said contractor Archer Western would save one and a half to two months by using explosives to bring down the old structure, meaning the entire project could be complete earlier in 2014 than expected. The demolition could happen as soon as March.

"They’re called shape-charges, which is a controlled explosive that is used to safely demolish structures,” Cavness said. "It was discussed, but only from a TxDOT perspective. We thought it could be done the traditional way of dismantling it. The contractor thought this would be more beneficial by saving time.” The explosives can also be placed in a way that ensures the bridge falls to the west, away from the new bridge.

Reader Comments

I agree with the above comments made by: skilakelbj. This is our opportunity to do it right and keep it clean. It's our future.
January 10, 2013, 7:16pm by Panties

Oh! The Contractor thought this would be more beneficial by saving time..Heres a thought. Get another contractor. One that knows how to un bolt the dang thing. And what about all those poor little fishies swimming below.Wheres the Parks and wildlife folks on this one?
January 11, 2013, 9:17am by Roy

WHY in the world would we want all that junk in the water???? Terrible idea, especially just to save a little time!!
January 09, 2013, 8:47am by skilakelbj

We don't need to save TIME! We need to save our riverbed & water quality!! Just say NO to explosives!!!!!
January 09, 2013, 8:48am by skilakelbj