Bridge shrapnel damages sewer line

MARBLE FALLS, Texas (KXAN) - Blowing up the Marble Falls bridge was more impressive than many people imagined, but Sunday's blast left repair crews busy dealing with some unexpected consequences.

Shrapnel cut cell phone, cable and Internet service and sliced holes in a sewer line attached to the side of the new bridge.

Cell phone customers were back in business a few hours later, and the city manager told KXAN News the double layered pipeline did its job by preventing sewage from spilling into the lake.

"We were not pumping through that line at the time of the demolition," said Marble Falls City Manager Ralph Hendricks.

He said crews had the line fixed by Monday morning at no cost to city taxpayers, though taxpayers across the state will have to pick up the tab. The city will be handing over all repair invoices to the Texas Department of Transportation. The state agency is in charge of the project.

Pieces of the old bridge will still be around the small town for years to come. An artist will be turning some of the steel into sculptures to display downtown.

It will take less than a month to remove the steel from Lake Marble Falls. Next crews will begin construction for the second bridge that will run parallel to the new one. Eventually having two bridges -- one for northbound traffic and another for southbound traffic -- will increase access in and out of the city along U.S. Highway 281.