Returning to "Plan A," Salt Lake County's demolition contractor has decided to chop down rather than blow up the Salt Palace Acord Arena.
Gillingham Construction Co. made the decision late Tuesday following a re-evaluation of options and further discussions with structural engineers, said county project manager W. Sands Brooke.Gillingham originally planned to gradually snip away at the arena's 36 columns with huge shears but later obtained an explosives permit to blast the top off the structure. The explosion had been tentatively scheduled for March 20.
Brooke said the demolition experts determined that they could control the collapse of the arena without the use of explosives.
Crews plan to cut the first column at the southwest end of the arena at noon Friday and proceed counterclockwise, directing the sagging and eventual collapse away from a mechanical room needed for the new Salt Palace.
Officials expect the structure to be down by midweek.