Meredith Mitchell, KTHV
Broadway Bridge set to be demolished in mid-October.
 

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark.(KTHV) --The Broadway Bridge will close Wednesday morning September 28 following rush hour. Many of you have asked what will happen to the 93-year old bridge after it's shut down.

A bridge that has spanned the Arkansas River uniting two cities for nearly a century will go out with a bang according to North Little Rock Communications Director Nathan Hamilton.

"They're going to be jack-hammering out the concrete from the platform part of the bridge and then they will actually be attaching explosives to the archway," Hamilton said.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department says the implosion will take place sometime in mid-October. It will take two detonations to completely demolish the Broadway Bridge. One for the steel arch and one for the concrete arches.

Hamilton said construction crews will have a short time-frame to remove the debris from the river's shipping channel.  

"We'll just move the camera angle a little bit, make sure we get it all in there," Hamilton said.

With a camera on top of the Doubletree Hotel, the city of Little Rock will give you a birds eye view of the demolition.

He said, "We'll be live-streaming the event, so everyone will be able to see it as it happens."

He hopes the live-stream will help with crowd-control.

"It is going to be all wrapped," Hamilton stated. "Nothing is going to blow off of it. It will all be contained."

The implosion will clear the way for the new bridge which is already under construction alongside the old bridge.

"We're looking forward to the new bridge though and starting a new era," said Hamilton.

The highway department says it will give plenty of notice as to when those explosions will take place.

KTHV