Big Time Building Implosion Scheduled

It's hard to get much advance information on building implosions, but here's one that looks like it's worth putting on the calendar. According to the Portland Oregonian newspaper,

"The massive cooling tower at the decommissioned Trojan Nuclear Plant will be brought down this spring, not by the political controversy that has marked its past but by the detonations of contractors hired by the structure's owner, Portland General Electric.

PGE said Thursday that it has hired Controlled Demolition Inc. of Phoenix, Md., to implode the 499-foot tower in what utility officials called the logical next step in a multiyear decommissioning. PGE shut down the facility in 1993 after a cracked steam tube released radioactive gas. The plant had operated for 17 years at a site near Rainier, 40 miles northwest of Portland.

The cooling tower, along with office and storage buildings, two ponds and a park, are the dominant features on the 634-acre site.

Although much of the decommissioning work has occurred, the destruction of the cooling tower will represent the most dramatic step.

Controlled Demolition operates worldwide. In the Northwest, it is best known for its implosion of Seattle's Kingdome.

The demolition of the cooling tower probably will take place in May, according to PGE. Demolition experts will set many charges, mostly at the cooling tower's base, and collapse the building within itself, attempting to minimize flying debris and billowing dust.

The cooling tower, at 499 feet, is higher than all but two downtown office buildings: the Wells Fargo Center at 544 feet and the Unico U.S. Bancorp Tower at 536 feet."

I might try to arrange a trip out there to see this. I've always wanted to visit Portland anyway.
PS: Comments with "heads up" information on confirmed upcoming implosions are most welcome. Include as many where, when, what details as possible. Thanks