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April 18, 2006

Bridge Blog: The reaction from a front-row seat

From projo.com's demolition correspondent Kate Bramson:

Esther Eberly of South Kingstown had a front row seat for the explosion today.

She recalled being afraid as a youngster while traveling over the bridge to visit relatives in Jamestown. Driving over the grates made a loud noise. "But we still stuck out heads out the window so you could see the water" under the bridge, she said.

She was among hundreds who showed up during public school vacation for the show.
Some were here with solid memories of the old bridge, some brought their children and their friend – many of them boys who wanted to see a good explosion. Others were URI students from out of state who had no childhood memories of this bridge, but wanted to join others for what would be a memorable day.

In the end, people seemed impressed.

"It was pretty cool, " Eberly said. "It Looked like, at night, a bridge lit up, and I was surprised how long it took for the sound to travel."

Maybe a couple of seconds, she and I agreed. What I do know is that the explosion rumbled in my chest, as drums do when you listen to a marching band. But what we didn't feel was any movement on the ground.

P.S. I can't leave Eberly behind without thanking her for faithfully watching my computer and a colleague's camera while we roamed the beach, talking to the crowd.

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 2:01 PM | Permalink

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