Independence Excavating (IX) was contracted to complete the environmental decommissioning, demolition, and site restoration of a 100-year-old, large-scale power plant on a highly aggressive schedule.
The environmental decommissioning scope included remediation of a 28-acre coal yard, dredging of multiple on-site ponds, extensive asbestos abatement, PCB remediation, contaminated soil removal, and the management of universal waste, oils, and chemical tanks to facilitate demolition.
Demolition work involved cutting, capping, and making safe all utilities, as well as the explosive preparation and felling of two 600-foot concrete stacks, a 650-foot-long turbine bay, and two large boiler houses in two separate events. This work required extensive coordination and precise execution to prevent disruption to an adjacent active substation yard, which ran the length of the turbine bay and was separated from the plant by only a 25-foot-wide roadway that needed to remain intact. Advanced precutting of the 100-foot-tall turbine structure adjacent to the roadway, precise mechanical removal, and the strategic placement of connex boxes ensured the safe execution of the project, preventing damage to active railways, public roads, and waterways that were crossed by portions of the plant infrastructure being demolished. Finally, the explosive demolition of extensive concrete foundations within 10 feet of grade utilized blast matting for protection, while night shift work for accelerated concrete processing further expedited the project schedule.
IX worked closely with the project owner to successfully divert a significant volume of concrete to local recycling yards after on-site processing. Beyond the environmental complexities, the sheer size and scope of the project, paired with an aggressive timeline, posed significant challenges. Despite these challenges, the team executed over 300,000 man-hours without a single recordable injury, processing 40,000 GT of scrap, 100,000 CY of concrete and debris, and 150,000 CY of imported fill, while managing 15-20 million gallons of water per month on a 60-acre site within a two-year window.
