Roads closed “for miles” around the site

The stacks at the mothballed and mostly dismantled Lambton Generating Station are coming down Saturday if the weather is right.

In 2013, the coal-fired plant shutdown. Workers remained at the Courtright site until 2016 as Ontario Power Generation – the owner of the plant – tried to find an alternative use. But that failed and the long process to bring down the massive complex began.

JMX Contracting began demolition in 2018 but the work stopped in April 2020 when the company went bankrupt.

Work began in earnest again in April 2021 when OPG hired Delsan-A.I.M. to finish the job.

OPG spokesperson Neal Kelly says the company made plans to implode the giant stacks in the month of February and they’ve been keeping their eyes open for the perfect weather conditions. Saturday morning is looking promising although the final decision whether the implosion will occur will be made before 6 am.

Security around the site will be tight. Kelly says roads will be closed for “miles” around the St. Clair Parkway and only OPG officials will be anywhere near the blast site. Even ship traffic will be prohibited during the action.

Kelly says the only place people may be able to catch a glimpse of the explosion is across the river in the US – unlikely for many since protests continue to tie up traffic at the international span.

Kelly says they hope to implode the stacks early in the morning. There will be months of clean up after that work is done.