Texas bridge implosion knocks out phone service

MARBLE FALLS — An outdated Central Texas highway bridge has been demolished using explosives instead of a tear-down process that could have taken two months.

Hundreds of bystanders gathered Sunday morning in Marble Falls to watch the former U.S. 281 bridge come down.

The implosion was so powerful, people could feel it 20 miles away and it knocked out 911 and phone service in three counties, according to media reports.

KXAN reported that cell phones stopped working along with first responder radios and confirmed the 911 call centers in Marble Falls, Burnet and Llano were knocked offline.

The Texas Department of Transportation has been working on a $30 million project to replace the four-lane bridge over the Colorado River with two roomier spans.

Experts opted for explosives instead of taking apart the 77-year-old metal-and-concrete bridge. Contractors will remove debris from the water and recycle as much as possible.

A new northbound bridge opened in December. A new southbound bridge will be built in the same space as the old span.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report