Date set for demolition of Brayton Point MA cooling towers

A date has been set to implode two massive cooling towers at the former Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset.

The 500-foot-tall structures will be demolished April 27.

The company that owns the property announced the date at a community meeting Tuesday.

“They’re ugly. They’re not good for Somerset,” Somerset resident Ben Ortiz said of the cooling towers.

He literally lives in their shadow.

Good riddance, he said.

“The only concern that a lot of people, not only myself, but a lot of people are having, is that when they go down, what’s going to happen with the dust that’s going to be coming out of there,” Ortiz told NBC 10 Wednesday.

“The residents’ concerns are of the utmost importance but I personally don’t think we really have to be worried,” Somerset Board of Selectman Chair Holly McNamara told NBC 10.

That said, McNamara said she wants to make sure residents are comfortable with the implosion plan.

“To be sure their fears are answered and that they have all the information they need,” she said.

The $600 million cooling towers were built starting 10 years ago in response to environmental concerns at the Brayton Point power plant.

The coal fired plant closed in 2017 and the property was bought last year by Commercial Development Company in St. Louis.

“We’re going to take a lot of precautions to make sure that it’s a safe demolition,” company Executive Vice President Stephen Collins said.

Collins said the implosion will take about 10 seconds.

There will likely be road detours in the area and a rolling roadblock on nearby 195, he said, to prevent accidents by gawkers.

As for residents’ worries about dust, Collins said, “We’re going to address that in the next two months leading up to the event so that everybody feels comfortable.”

The company is currently tearing down the rest of the power plant with plans to turn the property into a facility to support the offshore wind industry.

The company is raffling off the opportunity to push the detonation button April 27, with proceeds going to the Vietnam War Memorial in Fall River.

NBC 10 NEWSWednesday, February 27th 2019