The City of Pontiac has issued permits for the implosion of the old FieroPowerhouse, part of the Fisher Body Plant, located at the southeast comer of Baldwin Avenue and E.Kennett.
Implosion is scheduled for Saturday, November 2, 2019 around 8 a.m. Beginning at 7 a.m.and up to three hours following the implosion, access in and around local streets near the site andadjacent to the larger General Motors Pontiac North Campus (Baldwin, Columbia, Tennyson,Montcalm, Kennett and Hollywood) will be restricted to citizens, vehicles and traffic as inspectionsand post clean-up efforts are conducted. Multiple side streets will be closed (Portland, Wing, St.Clair, Young, Owens, Merrimac, Parkdale, St. Louis).Any residents and business personnel required to be in the Exclusion Zone ( see map) during the timeof the demolition event are directed to stay indoors and shelter in place.
Noise/sound pressure levelsand lingering dust may pose a safety risk. All doors, windows and entry ways are to be kept closedand exhaust fans turned off. As clean-up efforts are completed, access to areas within the ExclusionZone (within dotted lines) will be restored and communicated by the Oakland County SheriffsOffice.Mayor Deirdre Waterman and the City of Pontiac Department of Public Works and Building &Safety teams are taking extra efforts to notify residents and surrounding businesses of necessaryprecautions and detours.
“We are continuing to work closely with Racer Trust, construction personnel and contractors toensure demolition readiness and implosion efforts promote and support safe conditions and theenvironment,” said Waterman.
Travelers and residents are advised to avoid streets around the former GM Fiero Powerhouse property, located at 824 St. Clair Street in Pontiac, between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning, November 2. Demolition contactors will take down the remaining portions of the structure by implosion, which is scheduled to take place at 8 a.m. Saturday, weather permitting.
The property owner, RACER Trust, and its contractors have coordinated with the City of Pontiac’s Department of Public Works and Engineering Department, Oakland County Sheriff’s Department and other first responders throughout the demolition process, which began in April. All asbestos and other hazardous materials have been safely removed and disposed of, so while dust is an inevitable result of an implosion, the building has been certified as safe to take down. Any dust is expected to settle within 5 to 10 minutes after the implosion, based on wind conditions.
Residents living within 1,200 feet of the work area received hand-delivered notices from the demolition contractor describing the work and advising them what to do before and immediately after the implosion.
The Sheriff’s Department and the City’s Public Works Department will erect temporary traffic barricades at the following locations beginning at 6:30 a.m. Saturday:
- Baldwin Avenue and West Tennyson Avenue
- Baldwin Avenue and Montcalm Street
- Louis Avenue at HollywoodAvenue
- Parkdale Avenue east of Hollywood Avenue
- North Merrimac Street east of HollywoodAvenue
- South Merrimac Street east of HollywoodAvenue
- Owens Street
- Clair Street and East MontcalmStreet
- Young Street and East MontcalmStreet
- Wing Street and East MontcalmStreet
- Portland Street and East MontcalmStreet
The implosion will be conducted by Controlled Demolition, Inc., a company with six decades of experience whose work has included the Kingdome in Seattle and the Houston Astrodome.
The secured area will be closed to all vehicle and foot traffic at 7:15 a.m. A siren will sound twice 2 minutes before the implosion. The siren will activate again approximately 5 minutes after the implosion to indicate that the site has been inspected and that the implosion was successful.
Please avoid the area Saturday morning. If you are in the vicinity of the former GM Fiero Powerhouse property, please stay outside the barricaded area and follow any instructions for your safety and the safety of those who are completing the work.
RACER Trust is marketing the former GM Fiero Powerhouse property as vacant land for redevelopment.
Please see the map below from Racer Trust for more details.
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