Selective demolition the order of the day for Brandenburg.
From a distance, PNC Field still appears relatively intact, despite two weeks of almost constant demolition work.
That will change this week. Beginning today, demolition contractor Brandenburg Industrial Service Co. is scheduled to start taking apart and removing the existing stadium’s hulking upper deck in what will be the most visible sign yet of the planned $43.3 million reconstruction of the ballpark.
There will be no implosion, no wrecking ball, said John K. Baer, project superintendent for construction manager Alvin H. Butz Inc.
Instead, what is happening at the stadium is “selective demolition,” with components coming down practically piece by piece to avoid damaging the lower seating area, the home team clubhouse and the playing field – all components that will be preserved and incorporated into the rebuilt ballpark, Mr. Baer said.
“We have to work around the clubhouse, plus the seating bowl, which is a challenge,” he said. “You are limited in access to how you can get at it. You’d like to attack it from all sides, but you can’t necessarily do that here.”
Brandenburg will start demolition of the upper deck on the first-base side and continue around to the third-base end, Mr. Baer said. Working from behind the structure, the contractor will use cranes to remove the steel overhang at the very top of the stadium first before tackling the precast concrete components.
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