TxDOT sets tentative date to demolish U.S. 281 bridge piers
JARED FIELDS • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — The March 17 implosion of the 77-year-old U.S. 281 bridge was not the end of work on the structure.
Two concrete piers in Lake Marble Falls remain to be demolished. Officials said that could happen sometime in the next two weeks.
Kelli Reyna, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Transportation, said a tentative date of March 29 has been marked for the demolition.
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“Right now, if this demolition takes place during the day, it will most likely take place between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., so there is lower traffic,” Reyna said. “However, we are also looking at performing this work during night hours to reduce possible delays.”
Explosives also will be used for the demotions of the concrete piers. Unlike the use of explosives on the bridge implosion, Reyna said these are planned to detonate underwater.
Cranes with special buckets that allow water to drain out will be used to remove the rubble from the lake bottom.
Like the bridge implosion, fish again will be shocked to the surface to remove them from near the piers, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist Alan Butler.
Two days after the bridge implosion, Butler said there have been no fish deaths from that blast.
“As workers remove debris from the lake, we will continue to monitor the area,” he said.
Butler said 300 fish consisting of 17 species — and a few ducks — were relocated prior to the March 17 demolition.
jared@thepicayune.com