By Howard Wilkinson
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Where is the best spot to watch?

Your couch. All four Tristate TV stations will broadcast the brief-but-memorable event live at 8 a.m. Dec. 29.

Or your office, if you work in a tall building on either side of the Ohio River. But first check with your building manager and, in Cincinnati, consider street closings and parking.

In Cincinnati, the public can gather along the north side of Third Street from Broadway to Race. But if the wind kicks up, police will back the crowd up toward Fourth Street with no guarantee of a clear line of sight.

BOOM

• Cinergy: A gentle explosion • Police working to keep public out of danger • Info, maps • Implosion wheres, whens, and don'ts • Camera to give its life capturing inside look

In Kentucky, the best public view will be from Covington's riverfront, east of the Roebling Suspension Bridge, and in Newport at the mouth of the Licking River.

What about Paul Brown Stadium?

It's a great spot for a great view. But there is limited space for the public on the north end of the Paul Brown Stadium plaza and you have to be in place by 6 a.m. Most of the area is reserved for ticketed VIP viewers, the media and officials presiding over ceremonies.

Who are the VIPs?

If you have to ask, you aren't one.

But Jim Matthews of Sharonville is. Thanks to his mom, he won the winning raffle ticket to push the ceremonial button and bring down Cinergy.

Other than that, VIPs are invited guests of the Hamilton County commissioners, the Bengals, O'Rourke Wrecking and other contractors. Estimated capacity in the stadium viewing area: 1,300 people.

When will streets and bridges close?

More details will emerge Monday. But it's clear that most streets near and including Cincinnati's Third will be closed - along with the Roebling and Taylor Southgate bridges - by 6 a.m. Officers will form a "rolling roadblock" - using a line of police cars to slow, then stop, traffic on Fort Washington Way.

What about Ohio River boat traffic?

Some cruise boats will be on the river early in the morning, loaded with implosion-watchers, but they will have to return to their normal docks by 7 a.m. That's when the U.S. Coast Guard halts all river traffic between the Interstate 471 and Brent Spence bridges.

Will they push the button at exactly 8 a.m.?

That's the plan. But Mike O'Rourke, of O'Rourke Wrecking Co., can halt the countdown at any point if he gets wind of any security problem, technical glitch or weather problem. He insists the implosion will happen that morning.

What if the weather is nasty?

Only hurricane-strength winds can stop the countdown. Snow wouldn't bother O'Rourke Wrecking, and a little light rain would keep down the dust.

How long will the dust cloud linger?

Under normal conditions, with a light breeze, the dust should clear in 15-20 minutes.

What happens to the rubble?

Right after the implosion, O'Rourke will begin the process of clearing out about 135,000 tons of concrete and steel. Under the contract with the county, all of it belongs to the contractor. The firm plans to sell it all to steel salvage companies and to a concrete company, where it will eventually be crushed and recycled.

How long will it take to clear the site?

Months. Under O'Rourke's contract, they must have the site cleared by Aug. 31.

What happens to the Cinergy Field site?

O'Rourke turns over control of the site to Hunt Construction Group, the construction management firm for Great American Ball Park. Work then will begin on the construction of a building adjacent to the new Reds ballpark to house the team's Hall of Fame. Also in the works is a "Rose Garden," to commemorate the spot where, on Sept. 11, 1985, Pete Rose's record-breaking hit number 4,192 landed on the Riverfront Stadium Astroturf.

E-mail hwilkinson@enquirer.com