Six Flags' Texas Chute Out Imploded
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) —For decades, the Texas Chute Out gave a 28-second ride to thousands of visitors. Today it took its own ride, heading north, straight down.
The 200 ft. tall icon dominated the Arlington skyline since 1976. With six months of planning and fourteen pounds of explosives, it took about fifteen seconds to come crashing down.
Many stood outside the park to watch the shortest thrill ride at the park today.
Jose Duran was trying to take a picture with his phone when it fell. "By the time I figured it out it was done. It just blowed up fast."
The loud boom set off car alarms in the vicinity.
"It was great. Almost perfect. We missed the landing path by only twelve inches," said Josh Knight of Dallas Demolition, the company in charge of the task.
What once gave fans a ton of fun for almost four decades is now 70 tons of scrap. The demolition company must clear the structure quickly. Six Flags officials hope to have the new ride up and running by Spring.
"As time goes on, old rides get replaced by new rides, usually due to technology issues or there is a better way to produce a similar or better thrill," said Steve Martindale, the park manager.
The new thrill is called Texas Sky Screamer, it will stand a full 400 feet high. The ride will actually be a simple swing ride, just hundreds of feet off the ground. Its will be the tallest ride of its kind in the country.
But the future requires the removal of the past. A big boom and gravity helped clear the way.
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