I was taking the water taxi boat ride in Bricktown this weekend and the driver mentioned that Hollywood has signed a contract to "blow up" the bridge when it finally does come down so they can use the footage in a future movie. Has anyone heard anything about this?

Maybe that and recycling the steel is how the are planning to pay for it's removal.

And recycling the concrete? That's a lot of concrete that can be recovered (put back into the mix as aggregate) and I thought the prices were high on concrete also? Or is there no longer a shortage?

This is gonna be so amazing. Hoping we will know a set date where the bridge will explode so we can video raw footage and compared to the special effects in the movie.

I have my doubts about the blowing up thing. What about the sections over the streets?

I have my doubts about the blowing up thing. What about the sections over the streets?

Most importantly, what I was thinking was the sections above the canal and right next to the monuments.

Most importantly, what I was thinking was the sections above the canal and right next to the monuments.

Right, cause making sure debris doesn't get in water or knock over things that can be replaced is more important than a person's well-being...

Right, cause making sure debris doesn't get in water or knock over things that can be replaced is more important than a person's well-being...

I think Thunder was assuming the streets would be closed. They could protect and move all that stuff if they wanted to, but I think it would be too much trouble and disrupt traffic for too long.

I think Thunder was assuming the streets would be closed. They could protect and move all that stuff if they wanted to, but I think it would be too much trouble and disrupt traffic for too long.

Such a smart guy. :-)

While I think someone mentioned this as a possibility offset costs it had neither found someone willing to pay or been approved. Hollywood likes the kind of explosions that come from gas explosions that make a lot of fire and smoke but that does little to several inches of concrete and steel, the kind of explosives used to bring something like this do neither they are the minimum amount of high explosives placed at key points to cause the material to be pulled down by gravity. Plus it seems a very small number of story line that will have a completely empty 6 lane highway in an urban core exploding.

Lets assume for a minute if explosives are used in the demolition and it is being packaged for use by Hollywood; this would mean having additional explosions which will mean additional complications and liability (meaning more cost) so possible would not cover the expense of making it look good.

While I think someone mentioned this as a possibility offset costs it had neither found someone willing to pay or been approved. Hollywood likes the kind of explosions that come from gas explosions that make a lot of fire and smoke but that does little to several inches of concrete and steel, the kind of explosives used to bring something like this do neither they are the minimum amount of high explosives placed at key points to cause the material to be pulled down by gravity. Plus it seems a very small number of story line that will have a completely empty 6 lane highway in an urban core exploding.

Lets assume for a minute if explosives are used in the demolition and it is being packaged for use by Hollywood; this would mean having additional explosions which will mean additional complications and liability (meaning more cost) so possible would not cover the expense of making it look good.

I don't think that is actually the biggest issue. They would use pyrotechnics for the "gas explosions" and conventional demolition charges for the actual implosion. Not much different then the that hotel that was imploded in Vegas several years ago.

7RWTjasWWRw

Other then that I don't see why Hollywood would want or need real footage. Real life physics is boring and more expensive compared to what Hollywood can do with CGI. Also, didn't that last die hard movie already have a highway bridge demolition? I think that was all CGI.

OH MY MESSIAH!!! That is so frickin AWESOME!!! I really hope OKC learned from this and do the same for Downtown in a future demolition. Most of us are going to be dead, but if a structural defect is found within our lifetime, I hope Devon does way better than in that video. :-O

I was taking the water taxi boat ride in Bricktown this weekend and the driver mentioned that Hollywood has signed a contract to "blow up" the bridge when it finally does come down so they can use the footage in a future movie. Has anyone heard anything about this?

Are they still saying we are going to get a Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Cafe? I did the classic spit take when I heard them say that (and they continued saying it for years)

Larry is right. The water taxi drivers have a history of spinning tall tales... much to Urbanized Okie's dismay

Yeah, I caught on to that as well when I first read this thread. The water taxi drivers have always been very dramatic about certain things and for anyone in Hollywood to actually consider the I-40 demolition is almost funny to me. It would be cool if it happened :-) but never take the water taxi drivers seriously unless they are telling you the history of Oklahoma City and not the future of it.

Hopefully Urbanized Okie will address this... I've brought it to his attention. They try very hard to get the drivers to provide a good accurate tour... but these things ultimately will still happen from time to time.

Yeah and it gets kinda old sometimes cause you hear things that are interesting sometimes that they told you then you find out what they said was nothing near the truth. But it's all for laughs, so most of the time I just laugh along with em'.

My first ride was on the recent 4th of July. No clue what that female said, but she sure does need a bit more training handling that boat. And the poor ducks (the babies, too) scrambled to escape death.

LOL, not a part of the official tour material for sure. For the record: as far as I know, there are no agreements with Hollywood to demolish the bridge for a movie. I'll address it with the tour guides, who occasionally go off the reservation. Most are very careful to adhere to our 60+ pages of vetted tour material, but unfortunately at times there are exceptions.

Thanks Urbanized. It's not that big a deal for me but I would appreciate it if they stuck to facts sometimes. That's my only problem and it's not even a real problem.

Yeah, trust me; it's far more irritating to you than me when someone decides to freelance. We give them copious, accurate material to work from. Most put in excellent effort to learn this material, and it shows. Those who shortcut the learning process don't last long with us.

Usually mistakes are made mostly by those who are new, impressionable and have not yet taken all of the tour material to heart. This is compounded by the seasonal nature of our business, where each season around 50% of our employees are new by necessity. Sometimes, before they have been around the block a few times, they will have an enthusiastic friend, relative or passenger give them bad info (we see this type of info pop up all of the time on this very board, don't we), and they will run with it as fact. Eventually I'm usually able to find out about it it and correct the bad info, or one of our more experienced staff will do the same. An important part of the training is to make them understand that any new info should be carefully confirmed before adding it. It's a season-in-season-out challenge.

I think you'll find however that most of our ambassadors are highly-trained, conscientious, and incredibly enthusiastic about OKC.

Yes they are very well trained and do there job very well and provide interesting facs but every now and then there's someone who says something false, which you just now explained so now I understand the confussion on their behalf.

And for the record, it's not as irritating as I may have made it seem like, I was just exaggerating the point.

Oops! I mean, far more irritating to ME than YOU!

Well either way I understand and see your position. Thanks for clarifying though.

When I was driving Bricktown tours, I would usually convey "urban legends" or rumors like this since they are fun and entertaining for the passengers, but always tried to make the nature of the statement clear as just a joke. When I first heard this one, the story was that the rumor came from a passenger. Stories get passed between drivers in different ways, and then if you can imagine telling the same stories 10 or more times per day, sometimes you might just embellish your own stories... It's kind of like how those family stories everyone tells at Christmas get a little funnier and further from the truth each year... ;)

But, UrbanizedOkie is right- most of the drivers are very well informed about the history/present/future of Oklahoma City, and Bricktown in particular. In my experience, a lot of the break room chatter at Water Taxi was about downtown/Bricktown news, whatever Steve had to report for the day, or new businesses opening in the area- for the most part they do a great job keeping up with the facts.

Hollywood had better hurry up and detonate that bridge before the bridge falls down on its own!!!:rolleyes:

When I was driving Bricktown tours, I would usually convey "urban legends" or rumors like this since they are fun and entertaining for the passengers, but always tried to make the nature of the statement clear as just a joke. When I first heard this one, the story was that the rumor came from a passenger. Stories get passed between drivers in different ways, and then if you can imagine telling the same stories 10 or more times per day, sometimes you might just embellish your own stories... It's kind of like how those family stories everyone tells at Christmas get a little funnier and further from the truth each year... ;)

But, UrbanizedOkie is right- most of the drivers are very well informed about the history/present/future of Oklahoma City, and Bricktown in particular. In my experience, a lot of the break room chatter at Water Taxi was about downtown/Bricktown news, whatever Steve had to report for the day, or new businesses opening in the area- for the most part they do a great job keeping up with the facts.
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2000/02/03/Shane.jpg

COME BACK SHANE! One of the best tour guides we ever had, who in fact assisted in the compilation and editing of our tour material. I'll be trying to trick him into coming back to drive a boat even after he's OKC's Planning Director or whatever other great and important thing he ends up being.

Whats the latest on this? When will it all be down?

Well right now they are demolishing the section between Shartel and Walker, working their way east. Walker will be open again in a month I believe, they just closed it this week.

Is everything west of Shartel already demolished?

Pretty much. There are some remnants of the earthen ramp at Western, perhaps they're saving it for the boulevard.. :mad:

Wow somebody just posted a picture on Facebook. They are painting "THUNDER" on the old i40 that is closest to the arena. I'll try and post a picture

Yeah, it's going all around the Facebooksphere.. the photo was posted somewhere around here a while ago, looking for it...

It looks really awesome. Why can't we do a Thunder Alley viewing party up there in a vacuum removed from the mean streets of Bricktown? lol

Yeah, it's going all around the Facebooksphere.. the photo was posted somewhere around here a while ago, looking for it...

It looks really awesome. Why can't we do a Thunder Alley viewing party up there in a vacuum removed from the mean streets of Bricktown? lol

If someone took a gunshot wound and they were standing near the edge, they could possibly fall to their death. I sent that pic to my mom... Hoping they'll show an aerial of it on ABC like TNT did live shots at timeouts.

If someone took a gunshot wound and they were standing near the edge, they could possibly fall to their death.

Obvious solution: They shouldn't have taken the gunshot wound in the first place. where's the smiley I'm looking for, ah found it. :sofa:

This is a little hard to make out, but you can see the steel beams are now bare of concrete just south of Bass Pro and that section is coming part pretty quickly now:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/crosstown61212.jpg

Does anyone know if they still plan on blowing this thing up or what?!? WHEN???

Does anyone know if they still plan on blowing this thing up or what?!? WHEN???

No, they've never planned on blowing it up.

Does anyone know if they still plan on blowing this thing up or what?!? WHEN???

Nope. More of a Johnny Cash approach. They're taking it down one piece at a time.

REALLY?!? I could have swore a director or someone bought it for a scene in their movie.

REALLY?!? I could have swore a director or someone bought it for a scene in their movie.

Don't you know you shouldn't swear?

Does anyone know if they still plan on blowing this thing up or what?!? WHEN???


REALLY?!? I could have swore a director or someone bought it for a scene in their movie.

Oh, God! This rumor is never going to go away... Just to be clear... it will NOT be blown up for a "big Hollywood" movie, and I will personally apologize for anyone who got that idea from a Water Taxi! If ANY boat captain said this it SHOULD have been presented (as Shane said earlier) as a "fun rumor" and made obvious to be an urban legend, kinda like the alligator at Burboun Street Cafe being freshly prepared because they are pulled out of the canal every morning, or like it taking the Oklahoma Casket Company three years to build Elvis' casket because they couldn't figure out how to put the trap door in the bottom so he could come and go as he pleased. These kinds of things are supposed to be fun and laughable, but when it is presented in a way to be taken as fact, it causes confusion and that irritates me personally. There have been many talks about this subject (both with management and among the boat drivers themselves), and trust me, those who said such a thing have either been corrected or are no longer on the Canal! If anyone is still saying that, hopefully they will be sraightened out soon. So again, I appologize on the behalf of all those good boat drivers that acctually research what they are saying and stick to the guidelines laid out by the Admiral upon being hired.

Once again it will NOT be blown up, but dismantled section by section with materials in good condition reused...

REALLY?!? ...

Yeah, I had a similar reaction when I learned bunnies did not lay plastic eggs.
No worries. After the initial shock falls away, life will go on.

BUNNIES DON'T LAY PLASTIC EGGS?!?!? You have to be kidding!!! I've been lied to my whole life!!! Ugh..

Great, now I suppose you are going to tell us Santa and Rudolph don't exist???

Great, now I suppose you are going to tell us Santa and Rudolph don't exist???

but the tooth fairy is real... think about it... someone who sneaks into your kids room, leaves them a dollar and then probably sell the tooth to some medical research facility for 100 times that... Santa is a communist, the Tooth Fairy works in a capitalist society!

Great, now I suppose you are going to tell us Santa and Rudolph don't exist???

Now you done gone from informing to downright meddlin'. Hush yerself with that kind of crazy talk.
8^)

Actually, blowing it up for a movie set would be an awesome idea, but probably wouldn't fit the construction timeline anymore than P180 fits..er.. any timeline.

That said demolition has made its way past Shartel, to Walker now.

How did I not notice the flag poles in the median at Classen and the old I-40 until the old I-40 was gone? Felt like a dummy when I finally noticed once Classen was re-opened after the demolition.

I am currently uploading a video of the I-40 deconstruction between Classen and Harvey. Will be up shortly ;-)

http://youtu.be/IgARnKRs4b4

If someone can tell me how to actually show the Youtube video in a post as compared to just the link, I'd appreciate it cause I've tried every single thing I can think of to no avail.

In the quick reply at the bottom the 2nd button from the right is for video, it has instructions for youtube links (it is in the advanced reply but harder to describe the location). You may have to use the http://www.youtube.com domain address unless a more recent update started accepting the http://youtu.be links.

They're up to Hudson now removing the concrete. Everything from Walker east is just steel beams and concrete piers. It's really moving quickly. They'll be at the Peake very shortly.

Is Hudson closed now? I noticed last night they had the traffic lights flashing, I assumed preparing for street closure, which they're not even signing in advance now (although it's pretty much assumed with that one).

I drove on Hudson today so it is still open.

Sign today said Hudson closes 6/21. Just a little debris to clean & Walker can open. I am dreading Shields/Gaylord.

Sign today said Hudson closes 6/21. Just a little debris to clean & Walker can open. I am dreading Shields/Gaylord.

Any chance we could get some kind of weekend all hours of the day removal of the portion above gaylord? Ive heard of them doing this for bridges over important highways in california and texas. This needs to be done with this portion because shields/gaylord is such the main access point for downtown. It will crippled all traffic when they shut it down. I could see them doign this portion specially if they chose to.

Sign today said Hudson closes 6/21. Just a little debris to clean & Walker can open. I am dreading Shields/Gaylord.

Im guessing BNSF has the same concerns.

These are from just west of Walker:



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/i4061912a.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/i4061912b.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/i4061912c.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/i4061912d.jpg

They are really tearing it down on the East end. I counted 5 large pieces of machinery on top of the bridge yesterday. They also have a big crane taking the beams off. I doubt there is much left in 2 or 3 weeks.