Public poses bridge questions at meetings

March 07, 2013, 9:00 pm by Adam Troxtell

Council chambers were packed Tuesday with residents and business owners who wanted to know more about the planned bridge implosion. TxDOT gave a presentation on the project with construction representatives present.

Representatives from the Texas Department of Transportation and its general contractor met with the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary Club Tuesday morning and the City Council Tuesday night to allay resident concerns about the use of explosives in the US 281 bridge demolition later this month.

The presentations included the safety measures TxDOT and general contractor Archer Western will implement to ensure the demolition goes off without a hitch. Questions from Rotarians and non-Rotarians attending the 7 a.m. meeting at River City Grille were also addressed.

"I’m not saying things don’t go wrong,” Eric Hiemke, Archer Western project manager, said at the Rotary club meeting. "But, I believe we have put the proper safeguards in place.”

One of the main concerns residents at the council meetig had was about the anticipated 10 minutes it would take after the blast to make sure it went off without a hitch and no damage was done to the new bridge that sits right next to the blasting site.

"We'll have several of our engineers walking sectors of the bridge to make sure nothing went wrong," Howard Lyons, TxDOT area engineer, said. "The 10 minutes is an estimate. We do not anticipate any damage to the new bridge." Hiemke also said the types of explosives used are different from those used for blasting in mines, and that seismic or damaging effects to nearby homes and businesses are not expected.

Questions about the effects of dust and debris from the ongoing demolition and how debris will be removed from the lake were also addressed.

For the full story, see Friday’s Highlander.