Arkansas tried to blow up a 93-year-old bridge to begin a $98.4 million replacement; the explosives went off
The explosives went off as planned. The 93-year-old bridge, however, did not. On October 11, 2016, a demolition crew attempted to bring down Arkansas's aging Broadway Bridge with a controlled implosion, clearing the way for a new $98.4 million crossing between Little Rock and North Little Rock. Instead of collapsing into the Arkansas River, the old structure remained standing. The blasts had weakened the bridge, but parts of it fell against themselves, leaving the main span damaged yet stubbornly in place. Crews eventually had to attach cables to the structure and pull it down about five hours after the failed implosion. The unusual demolition became one of the most memorable episodes in the history of a bridge that had served central Arkansas for more than nine decades. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas records that the initial demolition attempt failed before barges and cables were used to bring down the structure later that day. A bridge built in 1923 The Broadway Bridge ...
