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| Three Rivers Stadium on the banks of the Ohio River on a cold January
morning. In a little less than a month, it
would make way for a new Steeler’s stadium. |
The new
Steeler’s stadium, not yet named, presented numerous problems for Controlled
Demolition, Inc. of Baltimore, Md. because it sits than 65 feet from Three Rivers. The
closest sections of the new stadium, constructed mostly of glass, required that the
demolition be controlled so that flying debris (flyrock) would not reach it. |
Work to weaken the structure involved removing all non-load bearing walls. All of the 800 columns on the 5 levels of the
stadium were entirely exposed so that they could be wrapped with 2 layers of chain link
fence and a spun geo-textile material. The
enormous piles of debris inside and outside of the stadium had to be removed before any
work with the explosives could begin. |
Horizontal drilling of the columns was begun immediately. The condensed time schedule required by the upcoming
baseball and football seasons, required that the demolition contractor sometimes operate
these drills around the clock. |
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| With the
work inside the stadium continuing, numerous meetings outside with the Pittsburgh Sports and Exhibition Authority, DEP, the
Pittsburgh Department of Public Works, and other associated agencies are held. This meeting with CDI and DEP Explosives
Inspectors insures a safe delivery and storage of dynamite at the site. |
Approximately 10,000 stadium seats that were not sold at the public auction
of Three Rivers memorabilia had to be removed as the stadium was further prepared. The bleachers on the field were removed and
piled in the center of the stadium floor. |
This photo shows the columns near Gate B wrapped and ready for loading of the
explosives. This scene was repeated around the entire stadium until all columns were readied. |
On February 5, explosives were brought into the site for a test blast.Twelve
columns of different size and construction were loaded with carefully measured amounts of
explosives to demonstrate how each column would be affected by the test blast. |
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| The explosive magazine shown here provided safe storage of approximately 4500
pounds of explosives and 2800 detonating caps. |
Each ¾
pound stick of Austin Powder’s EX Gel was placed in the drilled column and then
stemmed with sand. |
The sand was prepared at CDI’s Offices in Baltimore, Maryland and
transported to Pittsburgh. Each 1 inch tube
shown here was placed over the explosive to concentrate the energy in the column. |
Doug and Mark Loizeaux carefully place the explosive and stemming in each
hole for the test blast. |
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| A camera
crew from CBS documents the loading procedure for their special on the implosion of Three
Rivers Implosion. |
The columns pictured show the effects of the test blast. The blast caused the
rebar within the column to vibrate and bend outwards allowing the concrete to pulverize. |
From the test blast, the blasters learned the proper amount of explosive to
use for the specific type of column. All
columns can then be loaded and wired for the implosion.
These columns are ready to be hooked together. |
This view
from Mt. Washington provides an excellent vantage point to watch the implosion. Approximately 10,000 people chose this area to
view the implosion. |
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| The
implosion of Three Rivers occurred on Feb. 11, 2001 and produced minimal damage to the new
stadium. One broken window, shown covered
here with a spun Geotextile material and a small chip of one of the concrete blocks on the
new stadium was all that could be found. |
This picture
of the steel rim around the top of the stadium, formerly at the 600 level, now rests on
the 100 level after the blast. The demolition
contractor chose not to cut up this steel rim, but, rather remove it after the implosion. |
The enormity of the job of demolition and removal of the stadium is aided
with explosives, but considerable work remains. |
This view of the two stadiums shows how close the two were together. No debris from Three Rivers came closer than 40
feet to the new stadium. |
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| The Goodyear blimp hovers overhead to capture the implosion. The cable connecting the sections of the upper rim
nearest the new stadium helped assure that the falling sections did not damage the new
stadium. |
This view taken from nearly the same spot as the first picture in this
sequence shows the success of the implosion. |
The overhanging rim, masked in dust, is highlighted against the city skyline. |
Mark and Doug Loizeaux congratulate each other for a job well done. The explosive staff of the Greensburg District
Mining Office concur. |
