Smokestacks at Riviera Beach’s FPL plant near Port of Palm Beach will tumble Sunday in 7.5 seconds
The red and white smokestacks that have towered over the Intracoastal Waterway just south of the Port of Palm Beach for nearly 50 years should come tumbling down in a few seconds Sunday morning.
Controlled Demolition Inc. is dismantling Florida Power & Light Co.’s oil-fired power plant to make way for construction of the $1.3 billion natural gas-fired Riviera Beach Next Generation Energy Center.
The 300-foot smokestacks and adjacent boilers date to the early 1960s. They will come down, along with a water tower on the north side of the plant, in about 7.5 seconds after the 8:30 a.m. detonation on Father’s Day.
Controlled Demolition Inc. of Maryland has taken down thousands of structures since it was founded in 1947 by Jack Loizeaux .
The quantity of explosives used at the Riviera Beach job will be limited to minimize noise, and the structures will fall onto “cushioning berms” made of crushed concrete to minimize vibration, said Mark Loizeaux, Controlled Demolition’s president. Noise and vibration levels will be recorded.
Loizeaux said the noise from the blast and falling power-plant components will be less intense than a summer thunderstorm or a fireworks display.
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