State Considers Blowing Up The Old Broadway Bridge

As planning continues for a new bridge connecting Little Rock and North Little Rock, engineers are looking at another issue: how to get rid of the old Broadway Bridge.

Highway officials say contractors will likely want to blow up the current bridge rather than dismantle it piece by piece.

The new bridge will be built at the same site as the old one over the Arkansas River connecting downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock.

Highway officials tell the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that blasting the former bridge would be faster than dismantling it - therefore reducing the project's length.

Highway department spokesman Danny Straessle says explosives were last used on an Arkansas bridge in 2005, when crews destroyed the U.S. 70 bridge over the White River at DeValls Bluff.