Countdown commences as Aggies’ home is set to fall.
Texas A&M University System and demolition company officials gathered at Kyle Field’s southeast third deck Wednesday for a briefing on plans for the upcoming implosion of the stadium’s west side.
Crews under Lindamood Demolition, Manhattan/Vaughn Construction and Controlled Demolition have worked around the clock following Texas A&M’s loss to LSU on Thanksgiving to remove field grass, strip the west side first deck and prepare the stadium to be rigged with explosives and are ahead of schedule for the Sunday morning collapse.
Lindamood stripped the west side first deck after Thanksgiving to make way for Controlled Demolition to drill 1,100 holes that will be loaded into the structure.
Controlled Demolition President Mark Loizeaux said the demolition will last 17 seconds from the initial “scare charge” that will get all birds and bats in the structure airborne to when the debris settles to the final settling of crumbled concrete.
Loizeaux said nearby structures have been surveyed and are prepared for any ground shaking or motion that will come with the collapse.
According to Loizeaux, the elevator shafts will lean to the west toward Wellborn to minimize the quantity of explosions and “let gravity take over.”
Lindamood Vice President Jake Lindamood said 75,000 tons of concrete and debris will take a month to clear until Manhattan/Vaughn can resume the second phase of the $450 million renovation project.
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