Power plant demolition delayed by fatal accident rescheduled
The demolition of three smoke stacks at Hatfield Ferry’s Power Plant has been rescheduled for Saturday after it had been postponed because of a fatal accident in the fall.
Traffic stoppages will occur between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. between Monongahela Township, Greene County, and Masontown Borough, Fayette County, the state Department of Transportation announced Monday.
According to the release, stoppages of fifteen minutes or less will occur in each direction on Route 21 between Route 88 and North Main Street.
The project is the first of three planned demolitions to raze the defunct plant and open up about 236 acres for development. On Saturday, two smoke stacks more than 700 feet tall will come down, as well as a third that is about 540 feet tall.
The demolitions had originally been planned for September, but the work was postponed when Cody James Hatt, 29, of Carrollton, Mich., died after falling while working at the plant.
FirstEnergy, which owns the plant, contracted the Michigan-based North American Dismantling Corp. for the job. Hatt was an employee of NADC.
A spokesperson for FirstEnergy confirmed that the demolition has been rescheduled, but declined to comment on the accident.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the accident. OSHA makes reports on fatal accident publicly available on its website; however, no such report has yet been published for the Hatfield incident.
FirstEnergy hopes to be ready to sell the land by 2024.
Saturday’s demolition is planned to take place rain or shine.