Cooling towers imploded at Hatfield's Ferry Power Station

CARMICHAELS, Pa. (KDKA) -- Two cooling towers in Greene County came down during a planned implosion on Thursday.

The two cooling towers at the former Hatfield's Ferry Power Station in Carmichaels sat along the Monongahela River for decades. One was 500 feet tall, the other 550 feet. 

First Energy said commuters who drive on Route 21 were the main ones impacted Thursday as traffic was halted while the implosion happened, but overall, a spokesperson said the towers came down quickly and they're now focused on phase three of the project.   

"It came down pretty quick after the boom so that was pretty cool," said Waynesburg resident Mariah Zollars. 

First Energy said the implosion was phase two of its plan to clear out the 236-acre site for future development.

"The design was for it to fall down almost on its own footprint. It seems like that's what happened, dust didn't seem overwhelming," said First Energy spokesperson Todd Meyers.

But some say they'll miss seeing the more than 500-foot-tall towers and the history behind them. 

"My dad worked down there. He was a union electrician for a good many years," said Waynesburg resident Tyler Zollars.

"I remember whenever my daughter was little, she used to call them the cloud makers. It's kind of sad to see them gone," Mariah Zollars said.

The implosion was part of the dismantling and removal of the old coal-fired power plant that stopped operations back in 2013. Three emissions stacks came down earlier this year in March.

Crews will be tearing the building down on that site later this year.