Demolition of Broadway Bridge's concrete arches postponed

October 14, 2016 at 9:10 a.m. | Updated October 14, 2016 at 12:48 p.m.

by Emma Pettit , The Associated Press

Workers watch as a crane removes the last two steel arch sections of the Broadway Bridge from the Arkansas River Thursday morning after it was take down Tuesday. The job took 48 hours to complete, despite a 24-hour deadline given by the Corps of Engineers to have the pieces cleared from the Arkansas River’s navigation channel.
Workers watch as a crane removes the last two steel arch sections of the Broadway Bridge from the Arkansas River Thursday morning after it was take down Tuesday. The job took 48 hours to complete, despite a 24-hour deadline given by the Corps of Engineers to have the pieces cleared from the Arkansas River’s navigation channel.

Workers are postponing Friday's planned implosion of the remaining arches of the Broadway Bridge because of lightning in the area.

The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department had planned to implode the three remaining arches of the bridge connecting downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock on Friday, but the weather is prompting a postponement.

The demolition has been rescheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, said spokesman Danny Straessle in a news release.

[BROADWAY BRIDGE: More videos of explosion and bridge falling + traffic map, cameras, previous coverage, photos here]

Crews are working under a 180-day deadline to demolish the 93-year-old bridge and install a new one. On Tuesday, workers tried to use explosives to take down one arch, but the structure stayed put.

It took about five hours for crews to bring down the arch by attaching a cable to the bridge and pulling it down.

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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