By Howard Wilkinson
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Even the experts were surprised.
Ten months of planning the 37-second implosion of Cinergy Field paid off Sunday morning when the memorable event was executed flawlessly.
With 9,500 tons of structural steel, 70 miles of reinforced concrete and 600,000 square feet of masonry crashing to the ground, demolition experts knew there was at least potential harm to the nearby Roebling Suspension Bridge or the Great American Ball Park, which sat literally an arm's length away from Cinergy.
At the very least, crews feared windows in downtown office towers would crack.
But there was none of that Sunday.
"The worst problem we had after it was over was cleaning up the empty coffee cups around the command center,'' said Jeff Sizemore, project manager for O'Rourke Wrecking Co. The Cincinnati demolition firm was hired to bring down the 32-year-old stadium.
"I couldn't imagine a more perfect event,'' added Mike Sieving, Hamilton County's construction manager.
At 6 a.m., police and O'Rourke officials made a final sweep to make sure no one had gotten into the restricted area west of Cinergy Field and bounded by Mehring Way and Third Street.
At 6:45 a.m., O'Rourke president Mike O'Rourke announced that the stadium was sealed and the countdown was proceeding as planned.
"No one will ever enter that stadium again,'' Mr. O'Rourke said in a pre-implosion briefing on the plaza of Paul Brown Stadium.
O'Rourke officials, gathered in a command post in a parking lot about 600 feet west of the stadium, continued monitoring the site and making last minute checks right up to the sounding of a siren two minutes before the 8 a.m. implosion.
About 1,400 pounds of explosives - a 60 percent nitroglycerine mix - was used to bring down the 18 columns supporting the stadium in a counter-clockwise fashion, from the northeast corner to the southeast.
More than 2,000 holes were drilled into the concrete columns for the explosives, and they were set off in a rapid succession of blasts that lasted nine seconds.
The structural steel support atop the concrete columns had been pre-cut by O'Rourke weeks ago, to ensure that they fell inward
In October, O'Rourke crews took out two chunks of the stadium closest to Great American Ball Park to lessen the likelihood that flying debris would strike the new ballpark. Last week, Great American's west facade was covered with a strong mesh covering that is commonly used in demolition to prevent damage to adjacent buildings.
Once the stadium fell, Mr. O'Rourke and his crew rushed to the northeast corner to see if there was any damage to Great American.
"Not a scratch, and very little dust,'' Mr. O'Rourke said. "And not a single broken window.
"I'd call it a good day.''
Email hwilkinson@enquirer.com
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