Everybody loves a good demolition video and if you think you don't, you're lying to yourself. As the infrastructure around the world continues to deteriorate, more videos of bridge demolitions will largely dominate Youtube.
This year saw more videos with environmental considerations taken into account, especially over waterways. Instead of imploding entire bridges, the part that spanned over top of the waterway were manually removed. I've also grown an appreciation for in-depth footage of demolitions that occurred under some interesting conditions. Some of the videos below show some extreme creativity to overcome obstacles.
Enjoy the list! Let us know which one your favorite is in the comments below!
11. MARTA Bus Ruins Perfect View of Georgia Dome Demolition
If you’re going to be setting up a camera to film a demolition, you better know the routes that the city busses will take. For the second time in two years (at least) a bus has completely ruined a perfect angle of a demolition. This year, however, we got to enjoy a mini meltdown from the cameraman as it was happening. There’s a link below the video which has an unobstructed view of the demolition.
Full story: [VIDEO] Guy Hilariously Yells at Bus After Bus Ruins His Perfect View of Georgia Dome Demolition | Construction Junkie
10. Damaged Big Sur Bridge
Early 2017 mud slides caused considerable damage to Big Sur, California and even caused catastrophic failure to the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge along California’s Highway 1. The bridge was originally supposed to be demolished by wrecking ball, but technical failures and site restrictions caused the contractors to have to bring in a hoe ram to finish the job, which you can see below:
Full story: [VIDEO] Watch Damaged Big Sur Bridge Fall to Canyon Below During Demolition | Construction Junkie
9. Six Lane Overpass Demolished in 8 Hours
To dismantle the overpass, the contractor used 8 machines, mostly excavators with hammer attachments, to remove 154 tons (140 metric tonnes) of steel beneath the 75 loads of concrete. Crews started at 11:00pm local time and had the streets cleaned up and open to traffic the following morning at 7:00am, just 8 hours of work. That’s some pretty impressive coordination, especially since a truckload of concrete had to be hauled off every 6 and a half minutes, on average.
Full story: [VIDEO] Watch a 6 Lane Concrete Overpass be Demolished in 8 Hours | Construction Junkie
8. 80 Year Old Bridge in Brooklyn Imploded
For almost 80 years, the Old Kosciuszko Bridge connected Brooklyn and Queens in New York. Much like many other bridges its age, it is being replaced due to capacity issues and deterioration. When it was completed in 1939, it was built for 10,000 cars per day. Unfortunately for the people who needed to use that bridge that past few decades, around 180,000 cars used it.
In the beginning of October, the old bridge, which sits next to the partially completed new bridge, was officially imploded, amid fanfare. Twenty-two million pounds of steel, spread across 20 spans (10 on the Brooklyn side, 10 on the Queens side) fell to the earth below after the explosions were triggered by a computer.
Full story: [VIDEO] Watch 80 Year Old Bridge in Brooklyn Implode During Demolition | Construction Junkie
7. Eleven Story High Rise Falls on Excavator During Demolition
A nearby office worker caught the video below of a dramatic demolition that showed the remains of an 11 story building collapse on top of the excavator performing the demolition in June of last year.
As the crews weakened the base of the building, they used an excavator to break down the final supports, causing the building to fall. What they didn’t plan for was for the building to fall on top of them. The person who caught the collapse on camera was concerned for the safety of the worker inside the excavator.
Full story: [VIDEO] 11 Story High Rise Falls on Excavator During Demolition | Construction Junkie
6. Twenty-Seven Story Tall Building Demolished After Never Being Used
387 feet tall buildings cost a lot of money to build, which is why it’s a bit crazy that the video below shows one, which was finished in 1999 but never occupied, being demolished. That’s a lot of work and materials wasted. It only took 1.54 tons of explosives and 13 seconds to bring it down.
Full story: [VIDEO] Watch a 27 Story Building That Was Never Used Be Demolished in China | Construction Junkie
5. Asbestos Filled Smokestack Gets a Careful Demolition
Due to one of the smoke stacks at Sappi Paper Mill in Muskegon, Michigan requiring an emergency demolition due to its poor condition, it had to be demolished without first abating the asbestos inside. It was an interesting process to safely knock the structure down. First, the building and surrounding area was continuously sprayed with water. Secondly, a temporary pond was set up for the tower to fall into. The demolition crew had to be precise to direct the fall in the right direction and they pulled it off perfectly.
Full story: [VIDEO] Watch a Beautifully Executed Demolition of Century Old Asbestos-Filled Smoke Stack | Construction Junkie
4. In-Depth Video of Two Bridge Demolitions from a Barge
This demolition video is a 10-minute, narrated video, which explains in-depth how the team demolished a bridge over the Severn waterway without allowing any concrete to fall into the river. In order to do so, Priestly Demolition had to install a barge underneath the bridge to catch debris and also act as a platform for the heavy equipment. An additional “catch-all material” was also installed on each side of the barge to catch any material that could fall off the platform.
Full story: Watch an In-Depth Video of Two Bridge Demolitions from a Barge | Construction Junkie
3. The Nipigon River Bridge in Ontario, Canada
Not all demolitions have the luxury of being able to bring down a structure in a matter of seconds. Due to environmental concerns and a new bridge built directly adjacent, Priestly Demolition had to deconstruct the old Nipigon River Bridge very carefully in some pretty intense winter conditions. The video below is in in-depth look into how the company jacked the bridge up and used hydraulic rollers to move the bridge’s large girders to land.
Full story: [VIDEO] A Bridge Demolition So Impressive It Won Awards for Best in the World | Construction Junkie
2. Demolition Crew Accidentally Destroys Adjacent Building
Demolitions can be dangerous work, so it’s important to keep adjacent areas clear in case something goes wrong. In May, a rowhouse, which was occupied by a laundromat, in Baltimore, Maryland was mistakenly destroyed as demolition crews were working on tearing down the building next to it, according to the Baltimore Sun. Thankfully, no one was injured, as police occupied the area the night before demolition to keep people away.
Heads up, there’s some NSFW language in the video:
Full story: [VIDEO] Demolition Crew Accidentally Destroys Adjacent Building | Construction Junkie
1. Demolition of 19 High Rise Buildings at the Same Time
In Hankou, China, 19 buildings, each standing between 7 and 12 stories high, were simultaneously imploded late last week. According to The Sun, it took 5.5 tons (5 tonnes) of explosives placed in 120,000 different places to bring the tower blocks to their knees. As you could imagine, the 19 buildings, which covered a total area of 37 acres (15 hectares), created an enormous dust cloud that swallowed the site.
We definitely think this demolition is worthy of the top spot!
Full story: Incredible Video Captures Demolition of 19 High Rise Buildings At Same Time | Construction Junkie
In order to get the bad taste of last week’s botched demolition, in which an adjacent building also got destroyed in the process, we needed to share a highly successful one. Priestly Demolition, a Canadian demolition contractor, has been the subject of our articles in the past and the company has even won awards for the best demolition in the world.