West Marsh Water Conveyance: Project Update #2 (Demolition)

Muddy demolition: The early phases of the removal of the old water conveyance structure

It took until Wednesday of this past week before we could get back after things at the project site. The remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon didn't shut off until late Monday and we needed all of Tuesday to even begin drying out. Despite temperatures in the 70s and 80s all week, humidity remained very high. It didn't dry out much, but progress was certainly made . . .

Demolition involved excavation along either side of the 65'-long concrete structure before the concrete sidewalls
and "floor" could be broken and removed; the area impacted in this image was the widest point of the excavation
(because the footer the entire structure rested on was broad and painfully thick)

A 10-12' segment of the old structure's floor is jackhammered into smaller, more manageable pieces
(after being pulled out of and alongside the excavated channel)

The "more manageable pieces" of concrete (from the photo above) being loaded into a haul truck;
final destination: a local concrete recycling plant

The channel as of mid-afternoon today -- all of the concrete has now been removed; the last steps of demolition
will include final jackhammering, hauling, and site clean-up in preparation for the arrival of new infrastructure
(slated to begin arriving this week)

Unseasonably hot, humid, and calm conditions weren't always comfortable over this last week, but they have allowed a good deal of work to get done. We are now trying to finalize some structural engineering before we jump into the actual construction phase of this project. What's left of the devastation from Hurricane Florence is slated to stay east of us, and a largely underwhelming teal season is behind us, too (early season closed yesterday without me even getting out once), so hopefully we can make some significant headway between now and the opening of "big duck" season on October 13th. As with everything with this effort, ONE DAY AT A TIME.
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One additional (visual) footnote: I was able to tour my three best friends (all college buddies from Minnesota) through the property on Saturday afternoon. I've been waiting for that day for a long time. It was an introduction for all three -- each of whom made big sacrifices on the home front to leave wives and kids to spend the weekend with me and my family. They are all avid outdoors guys, so the original hope was to teal hunt. But with very few birds flying and temperatures and humidity sky-high, we opted to spend a half-day on Lake Erie instead. I haven't been on a chartered boat since I was 11 years old (and that was in the ocean), but a dear friend tipped me off to Captain Chris Clemons of Lakeland Charters, and we decided to play the odds and go with someone whose business depends on staying over fish every day. We put in at nearby Catawba Landings and fished nearshore water around the Islands. Not only did he offer an incredibly clean and stable boat, he also brought professionalism, experience, and a great introduction to Erie fishing for the guys.

We boated a decent number of solid "eaters," but also enjoyed a dozen or so bulldog sheephead along with a couple bruiser
channel cats. It was a great way to spend a morning

Thanks again for a memorable morning on the water Steve and Captain Chris!