MUSKEGON, Mich. — Some residents in Muskegon and North Muskegon heard what they believed were explosives Thursday morning, and it turns out they were right.
Demolition crews working at the former B.C. Cobb power plant brought the skywalk bridge between the boiler house and the smokestack to the ground with limited shape charges.
The steel structure was about 150 feet from the ground.
Workers are now cutting apart the skywalk and loading the steel onto trucks to transport it away from the site.
The Cobb's 650-foot-tall stack is now only 180 feet tall.
The rest of the stack will be knocked down later this year.
Many Muskegon area residents have been watching the demolition which has happened in small steps over the last year.
The skywalk demolition happened without any notice to the Muskegon Community.
North Muskegon resident Carl Parrish stopped by the Cobb property after the skywalk was already on the ground.
"I stop by here every now and then when I'm going by
just to see what progress they've made," Parrish said. "It's sad for me to see it go
down."
The B.C. Cobb property is expected to become a Great Lakes shipping terminal. North Carolina-based Forsite acquired the B.C. Cobb property in 2017.
The company initially planned to remove the skywalk mechanically but later determined it would be safer to use shape charges. The charges were used to make the final separation cut of the beams connecting the trestle to the boiler house and the stack.
Depending on the weather, the remaining plant structure and stack will be removed late this year or early next year. Final grading and site cleanup is also expected to finish in early 2020.
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