Wednesday, October 3, 2001

Metroplex implosions halted indefinitely
By Sam Eaton
Staff Reporter

Implosions of both the Bank One Tower downtown and the Hyatt Regency at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport have been postponed as a result of the Sept.

11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers. The projects have not been rescheduled.

The absence of the Bank One Tower will eventually leave a hole in the Fort Worth skyline, but presently the implosion has been delayed. No date has been established.

Lydia Gujardo, a spokeswoman for Sundance Square Management, said the image of the Bank One Tower, a landmark skyscraper in Fort Worth, being destroyed so soon after the terrorist attacks would be in bad taste.

Clay Paslay, executive vice president of business and commercial development of D/FW Airport, said the airport did not want to upset anyone who might mistake the explosions as a terrorist attack. Paslay said the implosion will occur late at night, when there is less traffic around the airport. The airport will tell each airline to inform travelers of the implosion so they will not be scared, he said.

Original plans for the Bank One Tower implosion allowed the public to view the demolition from a “safe distance,” Gujardo said. No spectators will be allowed near the site, but when the building eventually comes down, it will be broadcast live on television, she said.

Gujardo said the city was working on a contract with Controlled Demolition Inc. to implode the building.

“Once the contract is secured, then we’ll start trying to identify a date for the demolition,” Gujardo said.

Tina Sharp, D/FW Airport’s public affairs officer, said the demolition of the hotel was scheduled for Sept. 16, but was postponed due to the attacks.

Steve Roth, spokesman for Interstar, Inc., the company hired to implode the hotel, said the terrorist attacks had a hand in postponing the demolition because security issues became an airport priority.

“The airport had other things that they needed to be working on, so (the implosion) got postponed,” Roth said. “The construction at the airport stopped briefly, but has begun again, so at this point I don’t know about the status of the demolition.”

Paslay said the west tower of the Hyatt Regency inside the airport is still being imploded. The airport plans to build a new parking garage for Terminal D in the hotel’s place.

The decision to postpone the implosions mirrors public reaction.

Liz Pennington, a Fort Worth resident who works at the Bennigan’s Restaurant a block from the Bank One Tower, said people’s attitudes have changed regarding the implosions since the terrorist attacks.

“A lot of people were looking forward to it before, and a lot of people now have mixed emotions,” Pennington said. “I think people will be awestruck, but instead of cheering, they’ll just stand in somber silence in respect for the victims of the terrorist attack.”

Junior history major Ed Adams said he did not think seeing the demolition would matter to the public, but said they should be informed about the implosions.

“I think it would be incredibly important to let people know that not only was it a deliberate explosion, but it would be controlled and safe,” he said.

Tonda Doty, a Sherman resident who traveled through D/FW Airport last week, said seeing implosions at the airport would not frighten her, as long as the airport told her what was going on ahead of time.

“I would hope that the airlines told me before I boarded the plane that they were doing something along that line,” Doty said. “They ought to give passengers at least that courtesy.”

Sam Eaton
s.m.eaton@student.tcu.edu