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Susan Geissler was in the shower Monday night when a loud boom nearly knocked her to the floor.
Later, she found out the blast was the result of a planned demolition nearly three miles away. The Texas Department of Transportation on Monday night demolished the old Weatherford Street bridge on the eastern edge of downtown Fort Worth – creating a blast that shook windows and rattled nerves as far away as Arlington.
“This whole bridge blowing up business would have been a good thing to know before I got into the shower,” Geissler, who lives in the historic Fairmount area southwest of downtown, posted on her Facebook page. “I thought the world was ending and I was going into it without any clothes on. Which is totally something that would happen to me.”
Reached Tuesday by phone, Geissler, owner of Manifesto Marketing, added that if she had known about the planned demolition she would have tried to get close to the old bridge site and watch it. Geissler said she watched the 2006 implosion of the Landmark Tower downtown.
But officials at the transportation department acknowledged that they purposefully kept the demolition of the Weatherford Street bridge a bit on the down-low, to avoid attracting gawkers to the blast site.
As a result, many residents not only in Fort Worth’s city center, but also east Fort Worth and Arlington, were stunned by the noise and vibration of the blast, which occurred about 10:20 p.m.
Fort Worth 911 operators were overwhelmed with calls.
“They’re jamming our lines right now,” police Capt. Kevin Rodricks said Monday night.
Despite the jolt to the community, the demolition was considered a success, transportation department officials said. On Tuesday afternoon, workers were still removing debris, but most roads on the east side of downtown were open to traffic. Only Gilvin Street directly below the bridge site remained closed to through traffic.
“The amount of explosives used was the proper amount to get the job done,” said transportation department spokesman Val Lopez. “The whole point of the exercise was to demolish the old bridge without damaging the new bridge. Demolishing it using traditional methods like giant jack hammers actually would have exposed it to additional damage by debris.”
The agency and its contractors also took into account variables such as weather, Lopez said.
“Lots of factors go into how far sound travels,” he said. “If there was going to be cloud cover, they were going to affect the demolition. There was a potential there to cause damage to windows. But it was a relatively clear night, which means the pressure would dissipate quickly.”
Before the blast, agency spokeswoman Jodi Hodges had said: “There may be some small explosives, but we’re not advertising that to the world. It’s very controlled and very minor. We’ve certainly talked with all the local fire department and police and all that, but mostly it’s just demolishing that bridge and hauling off the debris.”
The bridge demolition is one of two projects that may have downtown-area motorists feeling a bit hemmed in these days.
On the west side of downtown, Forest Park Boulevard will be closed for up to nine more at West Seventh Street as workers begin digging column shafts for the planned new West Seventh Street bridge.
Some of the early work involves digging shafts for the new bridge columns -- an effort that requires heavy machinery on or near Forest Park. The road could be closed through March 27 and again April 3-12.
Motorists are urged to find alternate routes between downtown and neighborhoods such as Berkeley Place, but those who stay on Forest Park will be detoured to West Fifth Street, West 10th Street and Penn Street.
On Weatherford Street, the demolition now allows crews to complete construction of the new Weatherford Street bridge by the fall, officials said. The project includes reconstruction of the bridge itself, approaches, a new southbound exit ramp to I-35W, an extended deceleration lane, retaining walls and better drainage and lighting.
Staff Writer Bill Miller contributed to this report.
Gordon Dickson, 817-390-7796
Twitter: @gdickson
