DALLAS — People in Dallas' Medical District may have been alarmed by the sounds of explosions and buildings falling to the ground early Sunday morning. A press release from Lindamood Demolition confirms that the demolition was not only on purpose but was planned ahead of time.
The implosion was scheduled to happen at 8 a.m. on Sunday. at the Paul M. Bass Administration complex on the UT Southwestern Medical Campus.
The UTSW Medical Center livestreamed the implosion online. A WFAA viewer also shared cell phone video from when it happened.
According to a press release from Lindamood, the company was hired by Batson-Cook Construction under the UTSW Medical Center to demolish the Bass complex. The three high-rise towers, low-rise support and parking facilities "needed to removed" in the center of the campus without interrupting campus activities.
The companies said over 800 pounds of dynamite and 640 feet of steel-cutting linear-shaped charges were placed in more than 1,200 locations throughout the three towers.
The explosives were then detonated by over 1,500 delays. The delays were set to help control the speed and direction of each building's fall, break the buildings into smaller pieces for easier cleanup, and lower the noise and vibrations of the collapses as much as possible.
Lindamood expects its workers to remove over 134,000 tons of debris from the implosion within the next four to five months.
D Magazine reported in January that the UTSW Medical Center is working with Children's Health to open a new pediatric campus.
When asked about future plans at the site, UT Southwestern said it's "currently evaluating potential future uses of the site to expand clinical capacity."
According to Lindamood and Batson-Cook, Lindamood has been working on the demolition plan since May 2022. The structures were cleared for demolition by environmental agencies and the company worked with Controlled Demolition, Inc. to design the implosion.
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