Springdale preps for round 2 of boiler house demolition

What’s hopefully the last attempt at pulling down the boiler house at the former power plant in Springdale is scheduled for Saturday morning.

The demolition — which was about 70% completed last weekend — is anticipated to occur between 9 and 11 a.m. Saturday, according to Allegheny County Police.

CPERG, the owner of the former Cheswick Generating Station, and Cleveland-based B&B Wrecking and Excavation Inc. are managing the demolition.

Originally set to be imploded September 2023, the 13-story power station was the subject of a lawsuit when 16 Springdale residents sought to block the implosion, claiming a June 2023 implosion of two smokestacks caused damage to their health and properties.

Although the injunction was overturned last fall, CPERG and its then-demolition contractors, Grant Mackay Co. and Controlled Demolition Inc., are currently in a federal lawsuit over the chimney and boiler house demolition. CPERG in January determined it would move forward with razing the boiler house — the last remaining structure at the site — by conventional means.

Saturday’s operation will not use explosives. The remaining portion of the boiler house will be pulled down using cables, much the same way a portion of the building was pulled down on Sunday.

That demolition attempt was only partly successful. Officials attributed an issue with the cables as to why a portion of the building remains standing. Officials also said what’s left standing is stable.

As a precaution, three households on lower Porter Street that front the boiler house were relocated to nearby hotels by Charah, the parent company of CPERG. Porter Street, from Grant Street to the river, remains blocked off, accessible only to residents.

Detours will be in place Saturday at 7:30 a.m., according to police. Freeport Road and Pittsburgh Street will be completely closed from Low Grade Road in Harmar to Riddle Run Road in Springdale Township.

Nearby residents do not need to evacuate their homes, but should stay inside during the demolition, and for 30 minutes after.

Work and preparation at the site has continued this week.

Bonnie Spencer of Springdale’s Grant Street looks forward to the long-awaited demolition. She believes dust on the siding of her home has been the culmination of a years worth of remediation at the plant.

“When the plant was up and running, it wasn’t this bad,” said Spencer, who has lived on Grant Street for 33 years. “I thought when it closed, it would clean up.

“I’ll be glad when it’s over. I wish we knew for sure what they’re going to do with it.”

She stayed inside her home for Sunday’s demolition and plans to do so for the upcoming one.

“Looking from this angle, it doesn’t look like anything was done at all,” she said. “But from a drone, you can tell.”

Demolition completion is also a welcome sign for Stacey Goldsborough, of Colfax Street, although she is curious about what the site’s future may hold. Charah officials have said they plan to remediate the site for industrial use.

“I hope for the best,” said Goldsborough, who was walking her 8-year-old dog, Otis, in lower Springdale on Thursday. “It is an eyesore and it’s been very loud for quite a while.”