Residents cautious as demolition date nears

Ben and Donna Bevington are packing up and moving out.

Their year-long stay on their prime waterfront plot at the River View RV park in Marble Falls has come to an end. The bridge construction is too close for them to stay any longer.

"They're going to build the bridge with or without me," Ben Bevington said as he packed his things, "so we're just going to go to a better place for a while."

The demolition of the old bridge is almost complete, but some residents are worried about the explosion and what it could do to their property.

"TxDot says they're going to put monitors for this to monitor seismic activity," Marble Falls city manager Ralph Hendrix said. "There's also insurance issues that would be brought in to bear if there was damage to somebody's home."

The 80-year-old bridge will be replaced with a new four-lane bridge that will include walkways for pedestrians and bicyclists. It will be nearly 1,000 feet long and is scheduled for completion in about 18 months.

Residents like Bobby Butterfield said they may not be able to make it until that ribbon cutting when the bridge is done. He claims the dust has made him sick and he can't get any rest.

"My ears hurt so bad I couldn't even hear on my phone," said Butterfield. "It's hard to swallow, the noise...it's hard to sleep."

Jackie Buchanan runs the RV park. She said the construction, and now the scheduled demolition, will hurt her business.

"All of our tenants will actually have to be moved, " said Buchanan. "We have lost several of our monthly people."

TxDot said the one-time explosion is the most efficient way to move the project along.

As to the dust, they say they're monitoring the work site and even installing air quality measuring systems throughout the site and on employees themselves.

In the meantime, as work continues above, the Bevington's take in one last look at what used to be their little paradise.