Engineers botch U.S. bridge implosion; 93-year-old bridge refuses to fall [WATCH]
by The Associated Press
Severing the steel arch and bridge deck should have taken moments, but explosives failed to fell the nearly century-old piece of infrastructure
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—It turns out a 93-year-old bridge deemed structurally deficient wasn’t so weak after all.
Despite triggering explosives to bring down the Broadway Bridge between Little Rock and North Little Rock earlier this week, a demolition crew needed five hours to fell the structure. Severing the steel arch and bridge deck should have taken about 30 seconds.
Arkansas highway department spokesman Danny Straessle says the blasts weakened the span, but parts of the bridge fell against themselves and none fell into the Arkansas River. Ultimately, crews attached a cable to the bridge and pulled it down.
Three other implosions are planned during a six-month project to bring down the old bridge and put up a new one.
Explosives failed to fell the 93-year-old bridge in Little Rock, Arkansas:
