Contract of the Year - under US$1 million

PHOTO: DEMEX

DEMEX

COUNTRY Australia

PROJECT Wild Duck Island Demolition

CLIENT QBuild

Demex contracted with QBuild to demolish 20 tourist unit structures and associated facilities on Wild Duck Island off the Central Queensland Coast within a six-week timeframe. Logistic planning involved road and sea transport of equipment, materials and personnel from the Gold Coast to the Island. Demolishing the dilapidated structures required Demex to deal with friable asbestos, vermin, ants and snakes. The project required the careful sorting of demolition materials, which were ground to smallest size to facilitate systematic pay-loading the barge for load-out and demobilization. ■

PHOTO: P. OLESEN

P. OLESEN

COUNTRY Denmark

PROJECT 980 ton Bridge removed overnight

CLIENT MT Højgaard

While this bridge demolition was not a very large project, it has been described as spectacular due to the fact that it was performed during a single night in October. The motorway was closed in the evening and the process of demolition started with covering up the asphalt below with iron plates.

P. Olesen then used 12 excavators to cut the bridge from the sides and towards the centre of the bridge, to reduce weight from the bridge deck. A total of 980 t of concrete was removed along with the bridge’s foundations. The work was finished before daylight and the motorway was reopened on schedule. ■

PHOTO: PRIESTLY DEMOLITION INC

PRIESTLY DEMOLITION

COUNTRY Canada

PROJECT Glenbow Museum – Northeast Stairwell

CLIENT Glenbow Museum, Ellis

Don The Northeast Stairwell Removal at the Glenbow Museum was a unique and challenging demolition project that spanned just over 12 months. The former emergency stairwell was constructed of around 816 tonnes of reinforced concrete, however no detailed drawings were available, and there was very little information about how the outer concrete panels were attached to the building. Priestly created a highly detailed engineered plan that included the placement of coring holes, rigging, and customized hydrolift solutions. For each of the eight floors, Priestly separated the concrete spans into 20 panel sections (160 in total) – each weighing between 9 t and 16 t, and used a tower crane to remove them. ■

PHOTO: TRIFECTA

TRIFECTA

COUNTRY United States

PROJECT Tillman Hall Auditorium Renovation

CLIENT Clemson University

The restoration of Tillman Hall Auditorium – a structure comprised of brick and wood – aimed to revive its original historic look. Trifecta carried out a full strip-out, with historic items salvaged for reinstallation.

To protect the structure’s historic floors during the removal of 2-ft-thick concrete bleachers, the contractor installed shoring and utilised demolition robots for selective demolition.

Full containment with negative pressure addressed asbestos risks during ACM floor tile removal. Lead-based paint abatement and active fire sprinkler systems ensured safety, as the building remained occupied throughout the renovation. ■