Dallas Church to Go Boom

The sound of the choir inside a downtown Dallas church drowns out the sound of the bulldozers outside, but louder construction noise is on its way.

First Baptist Dallas will blow up four of its older buildings Saturday morning to make room for a new worship space. It will take five experts and an estimated 150 pounds of dynamite to bring the four buildings to the ground.

The structures are planned to come down one after the other in a matter of seconds.

Residents in the surrounding area are being asked to stay indoors during the implosion and up to several hours afterward because of lingering dust.

The church's $115 million makeover will include a 3,000-seat worship center, a sky bridge and hundreds of additional parking spaces.

"I've been coming here 11 years," member Linda Lott said. "It's just a special, special time."

Construction of the new church will begin in January. The church is aiming to complete the project in time for Easter Sunday in 2013.

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