Demolition

Colorado State University sets diversion goals for stadium demolition

Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, Colorado, is demolishing Hughes Stadium, a 32,500-seat stadium that was home to the CSU football team from 1968 until 2016, a report by the Coloradoan says. The building will be deconstructed by Cleveland-based Independence Excavating, which is contractually obliged to divert at least 70 percent of material from landfill.

In the Q&A report, CSU Project Manager Tony Flores and CSU Campus Planner Fred Haberecht say a large structure on the west side of the stadium that includes the press box and luxury suites was taken down April 9-10. The concrete filling the stadium bowl is scheduled to be removed by July, and Independence crews will begin backfilling the bowl by levelling the surrounding berms to restore the site to its original slope.

Last fall, the board of governors approved $4 million to $6 million for the project, the report says. Independence was awarded the deconstruction contract at $3.3 million, and $500,000 has been used on asbestos abatement. Because of Independence’s diversion requirements, Flores has been on-site to monitor the company’s compliance. A large video scoreboard has been donated to CSU’s Pueblo campus and 22 Evergreen trees were donated to the city of Fort Collins.

The turf has been removed and will be sold to a company in Pueblo that will use it to patch other turf, the report says. The university plans to use lighting structures from the stadium and surrounding parking lot, as well as electronic control boxes, switches and other similar items. The report says asphalt from the paved parking lots will be ground and used as a base layer in other projects.

Metal bleachers will be salvaged for resale and plastic chairback seats will be melted into new plastics by a recycler, the report says. Connell Resources, a Fort Collins-based subcontractor, will remove rebar for repurposing and crush the concrete.

The CSU Research Foundation is in charge of the site’s redevelopment, the Q&A says, and is currently seeking bids and plans for qualified developers to oversee a mixed-use development to replace the old stadium.

Demolition of contaminated housing complex in East Chicago, Indiana, begins

Demolition crews in East Chicago, Indiana, began tearing down a contaminated housing complex April 2, a report by the Chicago Tribune says. Amereco Engineering, Valparaiso, Indiana, is handling the demolition of the West Calumet Housing Complex, which contained arsenic and lead.

Crews are watching safety devices to see that no contaminated material leaves the site and water cannons are spraying the structure while crews work to tear it down to suppress dust. Two portable air monitors have been set up on both sides of the building.

According to the report, crews began the process in the northwest corner of the housing complex and will gradually move south. The demolition will remove all residential and nonresidential structures in the complex, foundations, pavement and sidewalks. Amereco says in the report it expects to complete the demolition by August.

East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland sent a letter to residents in July 2016 telling them to leave the site. The letter started a relocation process that was completed in June 2017.