Demolition of trestle bridge in Springdale on hold

How a trestle bridge over Pittsburgh Street in Springdale, near the former power plant, will be demolished now is uncertain.

Borough officials originally scheduled a town hall meeting for next week to discuss the structure’s demolition, but that was canceled, leaving unknown exactly how or when the iconic trestle will be removed.

CPERG, a subsidiary of Charah Solutions and property owner of the former Cheswick Generating Station, has been decommissioning and remediating the power plant site since it ceased operations in 2022.

“That meeting got canceled, and it was canceled for a multitude of reasons,” Councilman Dan Copeland said. “The reasoning is not because of Charah or Springdale, but the issues arose with Grant Mackay, who is the demolition contractor for Charah.”

Grant Mackay officials did not return requests for comment Wednesday.

Copeland said Charah, on behalf of Grant Mackay, requested the permit solely for the demolition of the structure that hangs over Pittsburgh Street. Because Pittsburgh Street is a state road, PennDOT must approve the plans before a demolition permit is issued, Copeland said.

The trestle was built about 100 years ago to provide a continuous supply of coal from the former Harwick Mine to the power plant without affecting traffic on busy Pittsburgh Street.

The trestle largely was set to be demolished but, after the permit was issued, Copeland said, Grant Mackay decided to “forgo” the plans reflected in the permit.

“That, in turn, resulted in the revocation of their permit,” Copeland said.

The change of plans was not because of a mistake or underhanded move by the demolition company, Charah officials said.

Scott Reschly, vice president of operations for Charah, said Charah and Grant Mackay realized there could be more efficient and less disruptive ways to remove the structure so they requested the borough to cancel the public meeting.

“We notified the borough we weren’t ready for the public meeting,” Reschly said. “We proactively did that.”

Reschly said Charah’s contractors are pursuing other options for the structure’s demolition. He said that’s why the meeting was canceled, because crews wanted to update the borough with a better plan.

“We went back to the drawing board to come up with a less disruptive plan,” Reschly said.

The power plant’s demolition has been plagued with delays and drama over the past year.

After controversy about how the permit for the property’s demolition was issued last year, the borough renewed Charah’s demolition permit for the rest of the property in January. A monthslong court case brought by residents near the power plant has stopped demolition of the site’s boiler house since September while the case winds its way through the courts.

The residents are opposed to using explosives to bring down the boiler house because, they say, explosive demolition of the plant’s two towering smokestacks damaged their properties and endangered their health. Charah and Grant Mackay deny the health claims. They maintain an implosion would be the safest way to demolish the boiler house.

Copeland said Springdale’s solicitor, Craig Alexander, notified Grant Mackay officials that the permit for the trestle bridge had been revoked Tuesday. Alexander could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Demolition plans for the structure over Pittsburgh Street now are on hold, Copeland said.

“They will have to go back before the planning commission and start from square one to do anything on top of Pittsburgh Street,” Copeland said.

Copeland said the meeting announcement, and subsequent cancellation, spurred lots of questions from the public.

“It makes it look like we don’t know what we’re doing in Springdale,” he said. “They’re not going to walk all over our borough.

“If they are going to do business in Springdale Borough, they’re going to do it properly.”