Winning bid comes in a full half million dollars below budget price.

Demolition of four idle buildings on the site of the Paulsboro port project will begin in the next few weeks, according to Gloucester County Improvement Authority officials.

AP Construction, of Blackwood, was awarded the contract for the demolition work at a GCIA meeting Thursday afternoon.

GCIA Administrator George Strachan said this is “the next logical step in construction.”

An empty warehouse, maintenance building and cement structures are included in the demolition. Strachan said the demolition should begin in the next few weeks and is slated to end by spring.

Dirt is still being brought into the port area as a foundation. Strachan said permits are being finalized and once that goes through, general construction efforts will move more quickly.

“The Port of Paulsboro is starting to take shape and we will be looking to bring a general contractor on before the end of the year,” said Freeholder Director Stephen M. Sweeney.

The contract was awarded for $2,056,600 and is being funded by a bond from the South Jersey Port Corporation. Strachan said he’s “pleased” with the amount, since it was more than $500,000 below the construction cost estimate.

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EPA to cite firms for violations in Zanesville High School demolition

Concerns raised about demolition operations at the old Zanesville High School site have led to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency getting involved.

Contractor Maiher Demolition of Carroll, as well as Dow Cameron Oil and Gas Drilling Co., will be receiving a notice for violating Ohio EPA rules on disposal.

A dust complaint against Maiher also was logged Thursday with the Ohio EPA’s Southeast District Office in Logan, and Spokeswoman Erin Strouse said two inspectors would be looking into the issues.

“Our Division of Air Pollution Control inspector has been in touch with Maiher Demolition regarding the dust complaint and will be conducting a follow up inspection,” Strouse said. “Our Division of Solid Waste inspector will be sending Maiher Demolition and Dow Cameron Oil and Gas Drilling Co. a notice of violation for illegal disposal.”

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Kestrel chicks hatch at Marchwood demolition site

Two chicks have hatched from a kestrel’s nest which halted the demolition of a former waste plant.

Hampshire County Council suspended work in June at Marchwood, near Southampton, after the nest was found.

Two chicks have now hatched from the five eggs in the nest and are doing well and already venturing out, the county council said.

They will be monitored closely and, once they have all left, work will restart at the site.

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Factory demolition stalled over asbestos fears.

The owner of a former West Virginia pottery factory is at odds with state environmental regulators over the demolition of crumbling buildings that contain toxic asbestos.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has gone to court to bar contractor Nick Masciarelli from demolishing the former Taylor Smith & Taylor pottery factory, contending that he has refused to remove the asbestos properly, according to a report in The Charleston Gazette.

Masciarelli, who purchased the property about 18 months ago, with plans to demolish the buildings, said he can’t remove the asbestos the way that state environmental regulators want because the crumbling factory buildings are dangerously unstable and unsafe for his workers to enter. A hearing is scheduled on Aug. 24.

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Demolition companies among potential buyers of GM plant.

Moraine City Manager David Hicks thinks a sale of the former General Motors assembly plant property is imminent, and he envisions the 121 hectare (300-acre) property having up to 10 users, all operating under a landlord owner.

Hicks also thinks city leaders will have input on Motors Liquidation Co.’s choice of buyer, although he doesn’t think the city will have “veto authority.”

In a memo to Moraine City Council , Hicks said “demolition companies” are among the potential purchasers, but he told the Dayton Daily News recently that he hopes the site avoids demolition.

“We’d rather have a building than a vacant lot,” Hicks said.

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Green light for removal of defunct Verrazano-Narrows bridge toll booths.

The obsolete toll booths on the Brooklyn bound lanes of the Verrazano-Narrows bridge have finally been slated for removal. Federal, city, state and MTA officials are working together as part of a yearlong, $2.5 million project to demolish the first eight east-bound toll booths that have not been used since one-way tolling began on the bridge in 1986.

The project also includes removing concrete islands, canopy structures, electronic signs, and concrete and asphalt restoration.

Construction yard explodes after worker saws through box of detonators.

UK construction website Construction Enquirer is reporting that a construction yard exploded when one of their workers sawed through a box of disguarded detonators. Workers at the Inverness yard owned by construction company T. M. Fraser had no idea what was in the sealed storage container which could have been lying on the site for 12 years.

Debris flew into nearby gardens and the area was sealed off for several hours and local residents evacuated to a nearby community centre before the Royal Logistics Corps bomb disposal unit from Edinburgh removed the quarry-type detonators.

The Inverness Courier reported a worker was attempting to open the sealed container with a power saw and he suffered facial injuries.

Inverness Central Councillor Peter Corbett said it was an alarming incident and called on the Health and Safety Executive to highlight to construction companies the danger of detonators stored in their yards unbeknown to them.

Read the full story here.

Exclusive video from initial stages of Get Carter car park demolition.

Our thanks once again to Chris Dobson and the team at Thompsons of Prudhoe for allowing us to bring you this superb video from the early stages of their work at Gateshead’s “Get Carter” car park.

“Get Carter” Car Park Demolition – Week 1. from Thompsons of Prudhoe on Vimeo.

UK demolition contractor makes zero waste pledge.

“We have been exploring ways to increase recycling rates further to see if it is possible to achieve ‘nil landfill’,” explains health, safety and environmental director Lynda Robinson. “Currently the majority of our demolition waste is recycled; bricks, wood, metal, plasterboards for instance are easily segregated on site, ready to be reused or recycled. The difficulty is recycling the small elements of demolition debris or mixed waste.”

To overcome this problem, Complete Demolition approached secondary fuel producer, The Waste Exchange – which has have developed the perfect solution for recycling 100% of demolition waste.

As the only company of its kind in the North West, the newly formed ‘Waste Exchange’ is capable of converting ‘residue’ waste, which would have been destined for landfill, into high-quality flock and biomass fuel. These secondary fuels will then be used to power cement kilns.

“We are extremely excited about working with The Waste Exchange, they provide an ideal solution for recycling our demolition waste,” Robinson continues. “As well as helping Complete Demolition reach its target of ‘nil landfill’ , The Waste Exchange is helping to facilitate a significant reduction in the reliance on CO2 producing fossil fuels for the future.”

Bridge demolition company undecided over which end to begin.

In a meeting held at Mount Airy’s N.C. Department of Transportation Office last Monday, July 26, Elkin Town Manager Lloyd Payne reviewed a pre-construction agenda for the demolition of the Hugh G. Chatham Bridge with the project’s contractors and DOT officials.

The meeting gave Payne the opportunity to air questions and concerns regarding the bridge’s expected year-long demolition, which is set to begin one week from today, on Aug. 9.

Last Monday’s meeting also provided answers logistical issues between the town and the contractor, DLB, Inc. of Hillsville, Va. Among these points were determining the starting point of the bridge’s demolition, public access to Crater Park during the demolition process and road closings in the downtown Elkin area.

According to Payne, the contractor has yet to decide whether the demolition will begin on the Elkin or the Jonesville side of the Hugh Chatham bridge. Although only one week away, DLB, Inc. is still in the process of deciding which town’s side of the bridge will be first to be sectioned off for demolition.

“Every document I’d seen to this point had indicated that construction would begin on Elkin side…but the DOT did confirm that the way the contract was written allowed the contractor to start on either side,” said Payne.

Read the full story here.