Locals to watch implosion from former parking lot.

Irving city officials have released details for how North Texans can witness first-hand the April 11 implosion of Texas Stadium from the stadium’s red lot, east of the intersection of State Highway 114 and Loop 12.

Locals will not be allowed to watch from the right of ways on surrounding highways.

Traffic on the highways around the stadium will be stopped for about 30 minutes the morning of the implosion, which is scheduled to happen shortly after dawn.

However, we sincerely hope that, when it happens, the implosion will not look like this.

Another video demonstrating how NOT to use a wrecking ball.

Wrecking ball plummets to Earth as bystanders look on.

There appears to have been some form of misunderstanding here. Wrecking balls normally wreck buildings or structures, not themselves:

Caterpillar dozer pulls down disused water tower.

The last water tower that once served Hanford’s plutonium-production reactors along the Columbia River has come crashing down.

Workers were lifted to just below the tank of the 38 metre (125-foot) tall water tower at D Reactor to attach a cable. Then a Caterpillar dozer pulled the 80 metre (263-foot) cable until the tower toppled.

“It was satisfying to see it pull away from the base,” said Bob Smith, Washington Closure Hanford project director for deactivation and demolition.

Read the full story here or watch the video below:

Hibs fans wave goodbye to Easter Road’s East Terrace as demolition work begins.

It is a sight to sadden Hibernian fans and raise a cheer from the fans of local rival Hearts of Midlothian as work to demolish Easter Road’s East Terrace begins in earnest.

Full demolition is now under way, before work begins to create a new, larger capacity East Stand which will house 6,400 supporters and increase the ground’s capacity to 20,250.

The new facility will not be completed until after the start of the next season but fans who held season tickets for the East terrace have been given replacement seats in the South stand. They will also be given priority when the new stand opens for seat selection.

Manager John Hughes said: “The completion of Easter Road Stadium will make it one of the finest footballing venues in the country, and I’m excited about the team playing in what will be a real fortress. Easter Road will only get louder with the new stand and we can’t wait for it to be completed and opened.”

Read the full story here.

£100,000 fines for UK council and demolition contractor.

Rotherham Council and demolition contractor Brocklebank have been fined over £100,000 ($110,000) after a worker was killed by a reversing truck during a road surfacing operation.

Gordon Duffield, a council employee, was knocked down by an eight-wheeled tipper wagon operated by Brocklebank, as it delivered asphalt to a site on Fitzwilliam Road, Rotherham, on 4 May 2007.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council was fined £75,000 and ordered to pay £18,350 costs in relation to the incident after pleading guilty to a section 2(1) breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at Doncaster Crown Court.

Sheffield-based Brocklebank also pleaded guilty to a breach of section 3(1) of the same legislation, and was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £12,000 costs.

Coming just a few days after a US demolition company was fined the paltry sum of $4,200 (£2,800) over the accidental death of a worker, we have to ask why there is such a vast discrepancy on either side of the Atlantic and, of course, whether £100,000 is a more accurate cost of a human life.

My own personal feeling is that a human life is beyond cost; but £100,000 is far closer than

Read the full story here.

New Mexico contractor prosecuted over air quality violations.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and Arizona Attorney General’s Office announced that an Albuquerque, New Mexico contractor has agreed to pay a $225,000 penalty under a consent judgment for asbestos air quality violations. The violations occurred during the 2007 demolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs school dormitory in Holbrook.

In May 2007, a subcontractor for Gerald A. Martin Ltd., a New Mexico corporation, began demolition of the dormitory. As the general contractor that was responsible for overseeing the demolition activities, Gerald A. Martin Ltd. was required to ensure compliance with asbestos removal and handling procedures prior to the demolition of the building. In August 2007, analysis revealed that materials containing asbestos were disturbed during the demolition of the dormitory.

Read more here.

NDA survey highlights cautious optimism among its 1,000+ members.

A recent survey of the member companies of the US’ National Demolition Association reveals that there is still a moderate level of optimism for the demolition industry in 2010.

Nearly one-third of members said they expected sales to increase this year, while more than 25% thought sales would remain the same as the previous year. Only 19% expected a decrease in sales. “Our industry is populated in large part of entrepreneurs,” said Michael R. Taylor, CAE, Executive Director of the National Demolition Association. “While they are well acquainted with business realities, they also tend to be optimistic and look for opportunities even when the economy is so challenging.”

In response to the question “What do you see scrap prices doing in your region in 2010?” approximately one-third expected the price to remain the same, while nearly 30% expected a price increase. Another third decided to reserve judgment or expect a price decrease. Trade publications like Construction & Demolition Recycling report an expected volatility in scrap prices in 2010.

Regarding employment plans for 2010, nearly 30% expected to increase staff in 2010, while another third said that staff levels would basically remain the same. Only 15% expected to lay off staff.

Increase in demolition of unused UK office and factory buildings could be seen next year.

Increases of up to 20 per cent in business rates are being forecast, as hard-pressed local authorities seek to make up shortfalls in funding from central government.

This could push demolition rates sharply upwards, and also see the trend spread to central London, which has hitherto escaped the worst effects of the trend. Demolition of redundant buildings has left ugly eyesores in the middle of many British cities.

The Government abolished empty rates relief in April 2008, which meant that full rates have since been charged on empty commercial buildings. Business rates continue to be payable by landlords on all empty offices, even if letting proves difficult.

Read more here.

While online publications seek to charge for content, Demolition News will remain free.

Under normal circumstances, we prefer not to be self-referencing and self-promoting; we’d rather let our words, photos, video and audio content speak for itself. However, thanks to dinosaurs like Rupert Murdoch and more of his kind, there are moves afoot that will require readers of online publications to part with cold, hard cash to access information that, to date, has been available free-of-charge.

It is a model that both Construction News and Building magazine in the UK are now pursuing; and it won’t end there.

They would have you believe that this charge will be applied to help pay for the hardworking journalists that produce their content. But don’t be fooled.

A huge amount of the content of trade magazines (and, for that matter, newspapers) comes as a direct result of them having received a press release from some third-party. It might be news of a contract award; a contract completion; the appointment of a new director; or the acquisition of a new item of equipment. But regardless of the subject-matter, the fact is this – It did not require a highly-paid journalist to spend countless hours conducting highly technical and prolonged investigations. In fact, in many instances, it required just two minutes of a sub-editor’s time turning someone’s contributed press release into what today passes as industry journalism.

No. What you are paying for is the downturn in on and offline advertising caused by the current global recession; you are paying for the multi-layered management and over-staffing that is typical among traditional paper-based (dead tree) publishing houses; and you are paying for a flawed and outmoded publishing method applied to a modern world that will not wait for and will not pay for information.

Without tooting our own horn, Demolition News produces more than 10 times the level of content of ANY paper-based demolition publication. Our website is updated daily, carries more news, and is not afraid to speak its mind, even if that means causing offense or controversy. And with the exception of our regular guest blogs, every single word you read here is written by just one person from the comfort of his own front room.

Now compare that to a trade magazine that publishes, say, once every two months, runs largely contributed material, and dare not speak out of turn for fear of upsetting a potential advertiser. Typically, such a publication would employ an editor, a reporter, an advertising manager and (perhaps) an advertising salesperson, all overseen by a publisher and, usually, a director of some kind. The magazine would be produced in a plush, air-conditioned office by a team of five or six people, each driving company cars and each with an expensive expense account.

And it’s you, dear reader, that is (or soon will be) paying for all that.

But not at Demolition News. For while we would like to be able to travel the world and swan about overseas demolition sites at someone else’s expense, it is our belief that you – the reader – want up-to-the-minute news, as it happens; you want comment and opinion on the issues impacting upon your business; and you want it free-of-charge.

So we are making a commitment to you, our readers. The content of Demolition News is currently free and that’s the way it’s going to stay.

If you’d like to finance the high-living, company-car-driving, champagne-quaffing, air-conditioned-office lifestyle of traditional publishing houses, you go right ahead; there are plenty of publishers out there that will gladly take your money from you.

But if you want fast, meaningful, FREE and (we hope) well-written journalism and comment, stick around.