The smokestack of the Detroit incinerator will fall during the early morning hours of Sunday, June 11, and it's not likely many in Windsor-Essex will mourn it.
The City of Detroit first announced it would start dismantling the incinerator over a year ago. Now, most of the complex is gone. Only the smokestack remains.
Residents on both sides of the border blamed it for adding to the region's air pollution and health problems for three decades.
"The full demolition of the incinerator is a relief to many people in the city," said the Director of the Detroit Building Authority, Tyrone Clifton. "We owe it to them to remove this unwanted structure from their community in as safe a manner as possible."
It opened near the I-94/I-75 interchange in 1989 and cost half a billion dollars.
Almost immediately, nearby residents complained of foul odours. Before it shut down in 2019, under pressure from the City of Detroit, it burned up to 5,000 tons of trash daily.
Hormich Wrecking has been salvaging scrap metal from the site to help cover the cost of demolition and has raised $1.3-million. Any money left over will go to the Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Authority.
Dykon Explosive Demolition will use controlled explosions to bring down the tower on the west side of the property.
There are no homes in the impact area, but the Department of Neighbourhoods started going door to door last week to inform residents. Russell and Ferry Streets will close, and dust will be contained by misting the stack with water.
Once the smokestack is down, the City of Detroit said demolition of the site will finish in July.