Demolition underway at landmark Hawaii lighthouse.

Demolition of the historic Kauhola Point Lighthouse began Friday in what could dramatically change the landscape on Big Island’s Kohala Coast.

Not long after the concrete structure was erected, Kauhola Point began to erode, taking with it the last of nine major lighthouses built in Hawaii.

“We just don’t have the budget to save it,” Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Cesar Acosta said. “It has to come down.”

When it was originally constructed, the lighthouse was 80 feet from the shoreline. Now, it’s less than 20 feet. The point’s erosion started slowly until the earthquake of 2006 took off about 6 feet all at one time.

The demolition is to take three to five days. The Coast Guard has already installed a new, more modern navigational aid that sits farther inland, but some residents said it’s just not the same.

Read more here.

The Winter 2009 edition of Demolition & Dismantling is now available online.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Dykon has won the Texas Stadium contract.

We are receiving reports that Dykon Explosive Demolition Corp. has won the prestigious contract to demolish the Texas Stadium.

Our news sources have thus far been unable to confirm these reports; we haven’t yet been able to wrestle an answer from the lips of Jim Redyke himself; and there’s still no news of the big name sponsor that might be backing the implosion; but watch this space.

Ohio house demolition comes in at just over a third of allocated cost.

If you have grown tired of this site pissing and moaning about low bids and price undercutting, please stop here because we’re about to do it again.

If like me, however, you remain intrigued at just how long the US demolition industry’s race to the bottom can continue, pour yourself a coffee (or something stronger), sit back, and prepare yourself for a tale of an Ohio city that had allocated $8,500 per home for an ongoing house demolition contract, only to be greeted with a series of low bids that valued the work at between $3,200 and $3,300.

Crestline, the city in question, signed contracts this week with Greenwich-based High Touch Homes and Kelstin Incorporated of Shelby to demolish a number of vacant vacant homes and have until mid-January to complete the work.

The city was allocated $85,000 for the project, and it will cost $15,000 to raze and clean up the four sites. Crestline Assistant Safety-Service Director Marc Milliron said the remaining funds will pay for acquisition and demolition of at least three Park Road structures.

He said Crestline will have money left because bids came in under estimates. The city planned to put $8,500 toward each home, and bids came back between $3,200 and $3,300.

If that hasn’t already depressed you enough, you can read more here.

NFDC members secure five out of six places in 2010 Specialist Awards shortlist.

Safedem, recently named Demolition Company of the Year at the first-ever Demolition Awards, is in the running to “do the double” having been named as one of the six finalists in the Construction News Specialist Awards earlier today.

Safedem will be up against some familiar faces with fellow National Federation of Demolition Contractors’ Corporate Members having secured four of the remaining five shortlist places. Facing them will be Cantillon, Clifford Devlin, Erith Group, Euro Dismantling Services, and Expanded Demolition (the only non-NFDC member to make the list).

The contenders have less than three months to practice their acceptance speech or their “gracious in defeat” look; the awards will be presented at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel in London on 4 March 2010.

Further details here.

UK’s National Demolition Training Group website is now available to view.

National Demolition Training Group, the specialist training offshoot of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors, is now live at www.ndtg.org.

Designed by Paul Sawyer of Web Preference, the company behind the Demolition News website, the new site has been developed to be easier to navigate and to provide both employers and employees with easier access to the latest information on training courses, qualifications and other training-related matters.

The site will also be a key source of information on changes to legislation and grant funding that impact upon training and should be your first port-of-call when you’re seeking help and advice on demolition-related training matters.

Work underway on Premier Grandstand at Fontwell Park Racecourse.

Buckingham Group Contracting has recently commenced work on a new Premier Grandstand at Fontwell Park Racecourse and Conference Centre near Arundel, West Sussex.

The £6.5m project for Client Northern Racing, will create an architecturally prominent three-storey building with twelve private hospitality boxes, a glass fronted hospitality restaurant for 250 people and a multi-purpose hall on the ground floor with new catering and betting facilities. An external terrace area provides a mixture of seating/standing capacity for around 1200 people.

Early enabling operations currently underway require the construction of a temporary race control tower and the careful relocation of a stone/timber domed folly. Buckingham’s in-house demolition team will then undertake Asbestos Removal and Demolition, of the former 1920’s grandstand building.

Read more here.

Arkansas University seeks funds to level former nuclear site.

The University of Arkansas wants to demolish the Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor and restore the site to pastureland. The school took over the decommissioned plant 20 miles southwest of Fayetteville.

But instead of having the federal government handle the cleanup, the university wants to run the project, which it estimates will cost $20 million, and pay for it through grants from stimulus funding — a unique plan for a one-of-a-kind nuclear experiment long forgotten in the state.

Read more here.

Infamous South Padre Island “Leaning Tower” set to fall on 13 December.

A 151-unit luxury apartment building that was never occupied because it began to lean noticeably during construction is about to meet its maker; and it seems oddly appropriate that the structure will fall on 13 December.

The implosion is to be carried out by Controlled Demolition Inc. of Baltimore as close to 9am as weather permits.

The Ocean Tower was to be a 151-unit luxury project slated for a spa and other amenities. Construction began in 2006 but stopped last summer when it became obvious the tower was sinking faster than attached parking garages, causing cracks in beams and columns.

Read more here.

Advanced Explosive Demolition (AED) wins bid to shoot Crown Point Bridge.

Advanced Explosive Demolition (AED) has emerged as the winning bidder to bring down the 665 metre long Crown Point Bridge at Lake Champlain.

Deborah Sturm Rausch, a Transportation Department spokeswoman, said AED was the finalist and a contract will be confirmed today.

Rausch said preparations for the implosion have begun. “There’s not a date set in mind for the implosion yet. We will be sure to notify everyone in advance so everyone who wants to view the implosion can do so from a safe distance,” she said. “Permits need to be obtained, all sorts of things need to happen before this can come down.”

Read more here.