South Padre Island’s “leaning tower” could fall next week.

The explosives are on the way and the Ocean Tower could come tumbling down as early as 12 December, according to reports from The Monitor.

“We’re ready for the explosion,” Mark Loizeaux of Controlled Demolitions Inc. told the South Padre Island Board of Aldermen this week. “We’ve done this all over the world with no serious accidents.”

Construction on the 31-story, 151-unit luxury project was halted last summer, a year after it was determined that the building was sinking, which caused cracks in beams and columns.

Loizeaux said his workers have drilled 3,000 holes in the structure for the placement of the explosive charges.

Read more here.

US’ National Demolition Association launches online training packages for members.

The newly revamped National Demolition Association website now offers a full arsenal of online safety training and certification courses that allow for in-house training, orientation, and personnel management.

The members-only feature provides more than 7,000 training courses on topics that range from fall protection and excavator safety training to Microsoft Excel and safe driving. “These self-paced courses were created for safety managers, employees that deal with environmental hazards, and general workforce employees,” explained Michael R. Taylor, CAE, Executive Director of the National Demolition Association. “It lets members track the training of each employee and manage their specific training needs.”

The courses are designed to improve safety, compliance, and risk management initiatives by providing OSHA standardized content, which is validated by industry experts. The interactive courses include instant grading and online certificates, as well. Members can pay just once for each course, but can view the course as many times as they want for up to one year.

Upcoming, the National Demolition Association is developing a demolition-specific safety training course that will be web-based and available on the newly upgraded website.

Shop owner calls for demolition of historic church to create more parking space.

A money-grabbing trader has called for the demolition of an old church Petersfield town centre – to make way for a Christmas car park. “At this time of recession we need to boost shopper numbers any way we can,” said jeweller Matt Tress, clearly not a religious man. “If we can set up a new car park right next to the Square, it will give the whole town a lift.”

His proposal to knock down the town’s Norman church, St Peter’s, has not met with universal approval (although I am sure that there are a number of demolition companies that will be backing him all the way) – but Tress remains unrepentant.

“It’s old and crumbly anyway and it’s been there for ages,” he moaned. “It’s nothing but an eyesore in my book – I’d much rather see lots of lovely shoppers pulling up there in their cars. I reckon you’d get more than 200 on that site, which would be a much-needed boost for the jewellery trade, and maybe some other shops too.

Read more here.

Federal Highway Administration approval to demolish Crown Point Bridge due next week.

New York state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Deborah Sturm Rausch says the federal agency is expected to sign off on the plan to demolish the deteriorated bridge linking New York and Vermont by Monday, the day the project’s prime contractor will be taking bids from subcontractors.

A subcontractor to set off the controlled explosions that will demolish most sections of the 2,184-foot bridge will be selected on Wednesday, with crews expected to start preparations soon after.

Read more here.

Video captures the complexities of (and emissions from) tripping demolition by excavator.

There are those in the industry that believe that “tripping” is a viable alternative to blasting as a means of controlled structural collapse; and there are others that believe that the practice is unpredictable and unsafe.

Regardless of your individual viewpoint, this video (which, sadly, we could not embed here) does give a good insight into how a building is tripped. But what it also shows is the need for exceptional in-cab air filtration to protect the excavator operator from the great plumes of dust the process creates.

Click here to view the video for yourself.

New Brisbane bridge faces demolition to allow tunnel construction.

This is the new AUS$9.9 million foot bridge which could be demolished – and rebuilt – to make way for the multibillion-dollar Northern Link tunnel project.

The Toowong pedestrian and cycle overpass was opened just nine months ago but The Courier-Mail has been told it now may need to be moved to make way for the Northern Link tunnel connecting Toowong to Kelvin Grove.

The bridge is expected to hinder work on the tunnel entrance off the Western Freeway.

Read more here.

Another day, another demolition contractor falls foul of asbestos control regs.

Cambria Contracting Inc., a Lockport, New York demolition contractor, faces $484,000 in proposed penalties for 11 alleged violations of asbestos cleanup standards at a site in Buffalo, New York.

According to a press release issued Monday by the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration, Cambria Contracting failed to train and protect workers who were cleaning up asbestos-contaminated debris at the former AM&A department store warehouse.

“These significant penalties reflect the fact that this employer, an asbestos contractor with extensive knowledge of the OSHA standards that govern asbestos removal and handling, chose not to follow these standards and put its workers, including young inexperienced college students in harm’s way,” Jordon Barab, acting Assistant Secretary for OSHA, said in a statement. OSHA is the federal agency charged with promoting safe working conditions by setting and enforcing standards and providing training and education.

OSHA investigators found that several Cambria Contracting workers who were cleaning up debris, had not been training in asbestos hazards or how to protect themselves. They were not wearing protective clothing or respirators and had not been informed of the presence of asbestos at the site. OSHA said the demolition contractor failed to establish an asbestos work area at the site and used debris removal methods that can cause asbestos fibers to be released into the air.

Read more here.

Another great video from Stephen SetteDucati, the Steven Spielberg of demolition.

DonJon Demolition Services a division of DonJon Marine Salvage demolishes the Bolmer Motor Car building in historic Bound Brook, New Jersey on November 24th, 2009. Built around 1916 the historic Bolmer building was home to Bolmer Motor Car up to the 1970’s. It was a dealership for early Desotos and Plymouth’s in the late 60’s.

Be sure to look out for the large Fire Hydrant sign in the foreground at 2:01, presumably erected in case Tiger Woods was driving by!!

Fall of seven tower blocks will herald regeneration of Leeds’ inner city.

The demolition of seven prominent tower blocks in two inner city Leeds neighbourhoods could mark the start of one of the city’s largest housing regeneration schemes, if approval is given by Leeds City Council Executive Board on December 9.

The tower blocks occupy land that will be developed as part of the Little London and Beeston Hill & Holbeck Private Finance Initiative (PFI) housing project.

The proposal to start the demolition process applies to Holbeck Towers, Gaitskell Court and Grange in Holbeck as well as multi-storey blocks and selected maisonette properties at Carlton Gate in Little London.

More here.

Winnipeg man stages appeal to save Alphabet House from demolition.

D is for demolition, W is for wrecking ball. But a Winnipeg man hopes an appeal to city hall will spell new life for his inner-city home.

Ed Ackerman will urge the city’s property and development committee tomorrow to dismiss a demolition order against his Gertie Street “alphabet house,” which has fallen under various municipal repair orders for more than a year.

Built in 1891, the 1 1/2-storey structure could be knocked down as soon as Monday, Ackerman said yesterday.

Read more here.