Crews preparing to implode massive smokestacks in Springdale Borough
SPRINGDALE BOROUGH (KDKA) — A major change is coming to the landscape of the Allegheny Valley.
On Friday morning with a boom and a thud, the smokestacks of the former Cheswick Generating Station power plant will come down in a dual cloud of dust.
KDKA-TV's John Shumway and Jennifer Borrasso are here with a preview of what you need to know.
You won't be able to see them hit the ground, but you'll see them fall from anywhere in the Cheswick and Springdale areas. The smokestacks have stood as community landmarks for five decades.
Controlled Demolition, the company that took down Three Rivers Stadium, will bring down the stacks on Friday. The black bunting around the base of the stacks is where CDI is preparing the detonation points.
"They've drilled hundreds of holes in it, which is what I put small dynamite charges in, and when those charges go off, it's like taking a wedge out of a tree and then it falls over," said Sam Miller with Charah Solutions.
Miller has been around the plant since 2009.
"I was operations and maintenance manager when it shut down, and I stayed on with Charah for decommissioning," Miller said.
The stacks kiss the sky at heights rivaling skyscrapers in Downtown Pittsburgh. The taller of the towers is 750 feet high and the smaller stack is 552 feet. Both will topple and be contained in the plant's old coal storage area.
"We'll spray it all down with water to control some of the dust from the clay," Miller said.
But he says there will still be dust. Officials advise people who live in the area to shut off any HVAC systems or air-intake systems in homes.
"I'm going to get plastic and cover all her stuff that are in the backyard, put towels in front of the doors so hopefully no dust gets in the house and make sure all the windows are closed and pray for the best," Springdale resident Kevin Keener said.
As a result, some side streets will close Friday at 5:30 a.m.
"Pittsburgh Street, the main drag on the north side of the plant, will close at 7 a.m.," Miller said.
Buses and all other traffic will be detoured.
"We plan on shooting the stacks at 8 a.m. or as close to it as possible," Miller said.
After the stacks fall, it'll be time to clean the streets and crews are not going to mess around. Crews expect Pittsburgh Street to be open by 8:30 a.m. and everything to reopen by 10 a.m.
The area that will be closed will stretch from South Duquesne Avenue in Cheswick to Colfax Street in Springdale, and if you want to just watch the stacks fall, you can see them come down from anywhere outside the closure zone.
"I know a lot of people want to come in and watch," said Bruno Moretti of Allegheny Valley Regional EMA. "Just please do it from a safe area."
Jacqueline Liotta has lived in Springdale for 61 years and is ready to watch history.
"I got a big picture window and I'm going to be standing there looking out because I want to see it go down," she said.
Once the stacks come down, the owners want to get the site cleared so it can be sold. The property is huge and it is along the riverfront, so the possibilities are only limited by the imagination and the money.