Demolition began downtown on Tuesday, May 2 a day earlier than planned due to the unstable condition of the buildings. Crews worked throughout the week and continue to work at the time of the publication.
Bradley County Judge Klay McKinney said progress was going well and progress was going faster than expected. Safety was their main priority. He commented he hoped by next Saturday, the demolition would be close to being done.
He said one of their concerns was the light pole on the corner. Workers are doing the best they can to save the light pole.
Judge McKinney said they have saved all the bricks from the buildings and have them piled up. About 100 loads of debris is hauled to the landfill for each building. On Saturday, they hauled 75 loads.
Judge McKinney told The Eagle Democrat that termites had gone up the interior wall and had eaten the roof causing it to fall in.
The demolition project took three to four weeks to plan before they started.
