SPRINGDALE, Pa. — After about a year and a half of legal challenges, questions and concerns, the last building standing at the old Cheswick power plant in Springdale is set for demolition. The massive boiler house will finally be coming down between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday no matter what the weather is like.
Dan Copeland sits on the Springdale Borough Council as the public safety chairman.
Instead of imploding the boiler house, Copeland said the 13-story building will be pulled down with cables.
No explosives will be used, which is a big difference from the last demolition at the site.
“They made cuts to the beams. Tomorrow morning, they will finish up in the morning making the final cuts to the beams. At that point the building will be free standing on its own and then they will use cables to pull the building over,” Copeland said. “It seems like they got a solid plan in place and everything should go accordingly.”
The actual collapse will only take about 30 seconds.
Copeland said an asbestos abatement was completed and crews have been removing large sections of the building and washing it before the rest is pulled down to keep a large amount of dust from flying into the neighborhood. He added, however, that some dust is expected and is advising people to shelter in place during and after the demolition for about 30 minutes.
Neighbors will get a one-minute warning.
“At that time, they’re going to activate the airhorns on their vehicles,” said Copeland. “That way, everybody in the community knows when they hear the sirens going that means they got one minute and the building is being pulled over.”
Channel 11′s Antoinette DelBel spoke with several nearby neighbors who didn’t want to go on camera. All but one neighbor said they’re not too worried about this demolition compared to the last go-round.
In the summer of 2023, two smokestacks at the plant were imploded, damaging property and sending toxic dust into nearby homes.
Copeland and the property owner Charah Solutions believe pulling the building down is safer and there will not be a repeat of the past.
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“This time is definitely going to be a more controlled environment,” Copeland said. “Tomorrow’s going to go off smooth without any issues.”
There will be road closures and detours near the power plant site on Sunday. Pittsburgh Street and Freeport Road will be closed from Murrayhill Avenue to Colfax Street.
Charah Solutions did not respond to an email request for comment.
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