The end is near for the last remaining edifice at Springdale’s former power plant.
Officials from Springdale Police, property owner CPERG and demolition contractor B&B Wrecking and Excavation held a public meeting Monday on the planned conventional demolition of the boiler house.
Sam Miller, the plant manager, said crews plan to pull down the building March 1 if weather conditions are appropriate.
How and when will it be torn down?
The demolition is not an implosion, Miller said. No explosives will be used.
Instead, B&B crews will use the “cable pull method,” Miller said. As the term indicates, he emphasized, they will literally pull the building down in a westerly direction onto a concrete pad.
“We will make this pull when the wind is coming out of the north, the north northeast, or the north northwest, at 15 mph or less,” Miller said.
Officials will monitor weather conditions closely all month. A week before March 1, Springdale Borough will announce whether the demolition is on schedule, communicating via the borough Facebook page, website and local alert system. If weather conditions are not right on March 1, the the demolition will be rescheduled.
People will know at least one day in advance the planned time of the demolition.
“That decision will be informed based on projected weather conditions at the time,” Miller said.
To pull the building down, B&B Wrecking crews will be making structural cuts to the boiler house a week leading up to the pull, Miller said. The last cuts will be made the day of the pull.
“The building will roll away from its footprint in a westerly direction,” he said. “The actual fall will last around 30 seconds or less.”
What should neighbors do?
There is no evacuation zone for this demolition.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we encourage people to stay inside (for) the beginning of the pull and then 30 minutes thereafter,” Miller said.
Officials expect no significant amount of dust to go into the neighborhood.
Crews are using several dust suppression methods for the demolition.
In advance of the pull, crews either have already or will remove the lower perimeter siding of the boiler house, completely wash down the boiler house, make holes in the building to allow for rain water washing, remove soil and add crushed concrete to permeable surfaces of the landing area, remove debris from the landing area and clean the landing area.
Crews are making efforts to reduce the weight of the structure and minimize the impact when it is pulled over, causing less noise and less dust.
An asbestos remediation process lasted one year and is in complete compliance with state and local laws, Miller said.
“The Allegheny County Health Department inspected all asbestos remediation measures, visited the site monthly during that process, and after those inspections, issued all required clearances in 2023,” Miller said. “Since then, we have been in communication with the (ACHD) and they have indicated we have the necessary clearances.”
Miller said crews also reviewed the proposed dust mitigation measures with the Health Department and incorporated their suggestions.
The site is also in compliance with regulations regarding soil content.
“We want this to occur safely, just as you do. Remember, we are personally working on this site. We want to be safe, and we want you to be safe, which is why we’re taking all these precautions,” Miller said.
Traffic detours
Anticipated traffic detours will be the same as they were for the demolition of the trestle bridge that ran over Pittsburgh Street, said Springdale Sgt. Fred Hockenberry.
Vehicles coming from Harmar on Pittsburgh Street should turn onto Low Grade Road, left onto Pillow Avenue, left onto Hite Road, take Route 28 northbound to the Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard exit, then turn right onto Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard, left onto Tawney Run Road, right onto Riddle Run and follow Riddle Run Road back to Pittsburgh Street.
Vehicles coming from Tarentum should take the same detour in the opposite direction.
How did we get here?
CPERG’s parent company, Charah Solutions, has remediated various power plant sites across the country. CPERG bought the Springdale site in 2022 and has been working with subcontractors and demolishing buildings at the station so the site can be sold for future development and productive use for the community, Miller said.
To date, eight buildings have been demolished, Miller said. The boiler house is the only remaining structure.
Featured Local Businesses
Officials had planned to implode the boiler house in September 2023, but a court injunction granted four months later prevented that from happening. Although the injunction was reversed by a state appellate court last fall, CPERG is now working with B&B Wrecking to demolish the structure conventionally.
Recent B&B projects include demolitions at power plants in Niles, Ohio; Warren, Pa.; Elrama, Pa.; and Sammis in Stratton, Ohio.
Councilman Jason Overly said he was confident in the upcoming demolition going off with no problems.
“They’re not using explosives,” he said. “It’s coming down the old-fashioned way. … I don’t see anything to worry about.”
Councilman Joe Kern, who is also a plaintiff in the injunction suit, agreed the presentation was informative.
“It seems they’re using more safety measures,” he said. “It’s all you can ask for. It has to come down.”