With two thunderous blasts and a huge cloud of dust, the city brought down the 110-year old Davis Avenue Bridge on schedule shortly after 2 p.m. today.

The bridge plummeted immediately to the valley floor after a momentary last-minute delay due to a report of pedestrians on the nearby Shadeland Avenue Bridge. That report proved unfounded.

By 2:10 p.m., the first group of city building inspectors was allowed to walk down Woods Run Avenue into the blast zone. They were followed by city Public Safety Director Michael Huss and a small army of gas, electric and water crews, all going to check for damage.

Mr. Huss said a home at Davis Avenue and Rodney Street has five broken windows. Three homes on Woods Run Avenue below the bridge have one broken window each. One home that was covered in protective fabric has a baseball-sized hole in the fabric, indicating something fell through it and signaling possible roof damage.

One section of outdoor fence at a home on Woods Run Avenue was damaged.

"We got through this without anyone getting hurt. That's the main objective. The other things can be easily repaired," Mr. Huss said.

Beneath the bridge, heavy equipment was clearing debris within 40 minutes.

There also are glass fitters on scene to immediately begin fixing broken windows.

The demolition, following two warning sirens and a 10-second countdown, came after a morning in which police cleared houses in the area.

The plan to implode the bridge was dependent on good weather, and rain showers moving east through Ohio threatened to complicate matters. But the early afternoon turned sunny enough to allow the demolition.

Mr. Huss said three teams of five officers started going door to door this morning to make sure all the estimated 400 residents were leaving an area extending about 1,000 feet in all directions from the bridge. He said it was an efficient process and "the residents were very cooperative."

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl declared an emergency and ordered immediate demolition of thebridge, spanning Woods Run Avenue on the North Side, after an inspection last month determined that it could collapse at any time. The bridge has been closed to vehicles since 2001.