Springdale's iconic smokestacks set for implosion

Notable demolitionsControlled Demolition Inc. is no stranger to implosions, with notable demolitions in Western Pennsylvania.According to the Phoenix, Md.-based company's website, CDI has demolished thousands of structures, across six continents, using explosives over the past seven decades.CDI imploded Three Rivers Stadium in 2001.CDI also holds numerous world records for its implosions, according to its website. In 2000, it imploded the Seattle Kingdome, the world's largest structure, by volume, to be demolished by explosives.In 1998, CDI imploded the J.L. Hudson department store in Detroit. At 439 feet tall, Hudson was the tallest structural steel building ever imploded; at 2.2 million square feet, it's the largest single building ever imploded.In 2012, CDI imploded the WECT television tower in Elizabethtown, N.C. At 2000 feet, the tower was the tallest manmade structure ever felled with explosives, according to CDI.The company also imploded the Harllee Branch Generating Plant windscreen and freestanding internal steel flues in Milledgeville, Ga., in 2016. That project set a record as a 1,000-foot-tall, reinforced concrete windscreen with two, 1,007-foot-tall, free standing, internal steel flues. That was the tallest chimney ever felled with explosives.

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The skyline in the Lower Valley will look different after June 2.

According to authorities, that’s the day the Cheswick Generating Station’s smokestacks will be imploded at around 8 a.m.

Local police will be coordinating with the Cheswick Plant Environmental Redevelopment Group, the plant’s owner; Grant Mackay Co., the general contractor; and Controlled Demolition Inc., the implosion subcontractor, to implode the smokestacks from the former power plant property.

From 6 to 10 a.m., roads will be closed near the area, with detours and alternate routes in place, according to the Springdale Police Department and the Allegheny Valley Regional Emergency Management Agency.

Freeport Road and Pittsburgh Street will be closed in both directions from South Duquesne Avenue in Cheswick to Colfax Street in Springdale.

After operating for 50 years, the plant ceased operations in April 2022. Charah Solutions, an environmental remediation firm based in Louisville, Ky., acquired the site last year with the intention of demolishing Allegheny County’s last coal-fired plant.

‘Like felling a tree’

According to the Allegheny Valley Regional Emergency Management Agency, a small amount of explosives will be used to create a notch at the base of each chimney to fell the structures in a highly controlled fashion.

Sam Miller of Charah Solutions said the power station’s chimneys — 552 and 750 feet tall — will be felled into an old coal yard. The space has been cleared for crews to access the debris for removal.

“It’s almost like felling a tree,” Miller said.

About the dust

A memo posted to the Cheswick Borough website said that, with an implosion, the dust is released in a matter of seconds and may linger in the general area for four to six minutes.

Graham Miller of Grant Mackay Co. said where the dust falls will depend on wind speed and direction.

As a precaution, people should close all windows, doors and air intakes, and cover other openings that might allow dust to enter a building. All exhaust fans should be turned off.

Sam Miller of Charah Solutions said crews will be cleaning streets as soon as possible after the implosion.

“We don’t expect a real big dust event from the stacks,” Sam Miller said.

He said asbestos has been abated from the property.

Early on June 2, the Springdale Police Department will cordon off the area around the former power plant to prevent people from getting too close.

The noise will be within the allowance of state laws, Graham Miller said.

“It’s not as loud as you’ll think it will be,” he said.

In the days before the demolition, a photographic survey will be made to document the preexisting condition of adjacent structures and properties, in compliance with state law, according to the Allegheny Valley Regional Emergency Management Agency.

Noise and vibration monitoring instruments will be set up around the demolition site to monitor actual levels generated by the implosion and smokestack collapses.

Another survey will be made soon after the implosion to determine whether any changes have taken place in the structures.

‘It’s a landmark’

Representatives met with nearby residents last weekend to provide information, answer questions and offer resources, according to the Allegheny Valley Regional Emergency Management Agency.

Bill Leahy has lived in Springdale for 30 years. He said he likes seeing the towering smokestacks but also is glad they are coming down.

“You can see it from everywhere. … It’s a landmark,” Leahy said. “I just hope they figure out what to do with the land.”

It’s not clear what the property’s future might hold. Earlier this month, the borough’s planning commission recommended that the property be rezoned to residential. Charah Solutions requests that it remain zoned for industrial or commercial use.

Leahy said he thinks many residents — especially in Springdale’s lower streets — are happy to see the stacks go. He’s not concerned about the demolition.

“I think they know what they’re doing,” he said.

Barb Kusenko of neighboring Cheswick said she thinks the stacks’ removal ultimately will be good environmentally.

“It’s going to be dirty at first, but, hopefully, it will be a better thing later,” she said.

Springdale resident Vicki Wanamaker said she has been told the demolition will go as planned, but she still has some concerns until all is said and done. She is nervous about structural damage to her home and coal dust in the air.

Ben Winfield of Springdale also had concerns about dust and debris. The 15-year resident hopes there is a plan in place for the mitigation, but he is eager to see the stacks go.

“It’ll be good to see the horizon without those in the way,” Winfield said. “I’m glad we’re not burning coal around here anymore.”

Like Leahy, Winfield is excited to see what the property’s future holds. He plans to watch the implosion from his house Friday.

“It’ll be a spectacle,” he said.

Kellen Stepler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kellen by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .

Notable demolitionsControlled Demolition Inc. is no stranger to implosions, with notable demolitions in Western Pennsylvania.According to the Phoenix, Md.-based company's website, CDI has demolished thousands of structures, across six continents, using explosives over the past seven decades.CDI imploded Three Rivers Stadium in 2001.CDI also holds numerous world records for its implosions, according to its website. In 2000, it imploded the Seattle Kingdome, the world's largest structure, by volume, to be demolished by explosives.In 1998, CDI imploded the J.L. Hudson department store in Detroit. At 439 feet tall, Hudson was the tallest structural steel building ever imploded; at 2.2 million square feet, it's the largest single building ever imploded.In 2012, CDI imploded the WECT television tower in Elizabethtown, N.C. At 2000 feet, the tower was the tallest manmade structure ever felled with explosives, according to CDI.The company also imploded the Harllee Branch Generating Plant windscreen and freestanding internal steel flues in Milledgeville, Ga., in 2016. That project set a record as a 1,000-foot-tall, reinforced concrete windscreen with two, 1,007-foot-tall, free standing, internal steel flues. That was the tallest chimney ever felled with explosives.

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