Posted on 12/03/2017 7:09:55 AM PST by FreedomPoster
An iconic sports stadium in the Detroit area was supposed to meet its end on Sunday, but not everything went according to plan.
Officials were supposed to conduct a partial implosion of the Pontiac Silverdome around 8:30 a.m., with a blast originally set to break the metal beams supporting the upper ring of the dome and causing the structure to fall to the ground.
But after some blasts went off and a plume of smoke enveloped the former home of the Detroit Lions, the structure was still standing.
City officials told FOX 2 Detroit the implosion failed, adding that "what was supposed to happen, did not."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Demolition charges must have been set by Democrats.
I still go back to all the articles talking about the planned implosion. Again, none of them had any quotes saying “yeah, we’re just cutting some beams explosively, there will be a nice BOOM!, but not much will happen.”
While I suppose that’s possible, it seems counterintuitive. Everywhere else, they drop the thing. They just did the Georgia Dome here two weeks ago, for example.
Now THAT’S what an implosion looks like. Note the proximity to the new Mercedes-Benz stadium at ~15s in.
Rick Cuppetilli, executive vice president of the demolition compnay Adamo Group, said technical issues have kept the stadium standing.
The main eight columns that actually were the ones that would trip the structure, we dont know if the cord was detonated or cut, said Cuppetilli, We dont know it didnt detonate. Its not coming down right now. Believe it or not that bang was the soft one. The cutting charges are on the eight main columns and they did not go off.
Cuppetilli said without those main columns which we have to reset, rewire, the structure probably not going to come down.
The city of Pontiac had tried to throw cold water on the public interest in the event, telling news media in the weeks beforehand that the implosion was only the beginning of a yearlong process. There were livestreams available online that would've prevented both exposure to the cold morning and the difficulty of finding parking with a view.
After the noise, people stood at their watch sites, some still recording on their phones, others asking "is this it?"
But Jeff Bowdell, who is overseeing the Silverdome demolition for the city of Pontiac, had warned days ahead that the those viewing the implosion would likely think it was a bust.
"This is going to anti-climactic," Bowdell said last week. "This isn't going to be like the Georgia Dome or the Hudson's Building. That's not what's going to happen. That's not what's been approved."
This is what we typically expect to see in a controlled demolition.
Budd Wheel Buildings - Controlled Demolition, Inc.
But notice that the first charges do not bring the building down. From what I understand the first are highly focused shape charges that act like blow torches to cut through and weaken the support structures only much faster. But it is the next series of charges that actually brings the structure down.
For what its worth I used to work with a gal whose husband worked for Controlled Demolition Inc. based in Phoenix Maryland. She told me that her husband was a former military explosive expert and that the work was highly dangerous and he could be away from home, anywhere in the world for weeks or even months at a time, but the pay was very good and it was a great company to work for, very close knit group. CDI was the innovator and at the forefront of using explosive to demolish structures and from what I understand, they are still the gold star in that industry. Although as I understand, even CDI has had some failures. Sometimes things just dont go as planned.
The firm (Controlled Demolition) was created by Jack Loizeaux* who used dynamite to remove tree stumps in the Baltimore, Maryland area, and moved on to using explosives to take down chimneys, overpasses and small buildings in the 1940s.
John D. `Jack' Loizeaux, 85, expert in use of explosives in demolition
Heh, I was just getting ready to post the Cuppetilli comment. Thanks MD.
I have seen several photos of parking lots around the country full of buy-back diesel VW's awaiting disposition.
The Silverdome was one of the sites.
I assume it still is.
Finishing the job would be a good place for some National Guard howitzer training.
Good catch... with a Detroit twist.
Drone footage shows Silverdome lot jam-packed with VW’s cheating diesels
Updated Mar 29, 2017; Posted Mar 29, 2017
60-plus recalled Volkswagens believed stolen from Pontiac Silverdome lot
Updated Sep 13, 2017; Posted Sep 13, 2017
Partial implosion, sounds apropos. Pontiac city gubmint has wanted the facility replaced with a corporate HQ, apparently because they know all about creating a business-friendly environment, and not just because of their own profligate spending that really took off when the Silverdome got built there. Thanks FreedomPoster.
Drugs.
#8 That will be a new tourist attraction.
A perfect metaphor for the franchise that used to play there.
#silverdomestrong...no more.
Greatest memory of Pontiac had to be the 1992 Playoffs when the Lions beat the Cowboys 38-6.
For me it was a drum and bugle corps show(early-mid 70s...though horrendous acoustics) and a van show(featuring The Fonz and The Ghoul)back in the 70’s. Couple of Lions games, but the tailgates for those were better than the games.
Some video from that concert. Pete was not a happy camper that night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EniWF9Nvrqs
Just ran across this during a search.
My wife and I laughed our assess off watching live.
The reportette was confused seconds after the charges went off.
silence
Then a guy in the background yells “it didn’t work!”
You can’t make it up.
about 6 miles from my house
Detroit blight
Flint water
Dearbornistan
and then this
this place can’t catch a break
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