Entergy Arkansas used controlled explosive blasts Friday morning to bring down three key structures of its retired Couch Harvey Couch Power Plant east of Stamps (Lafayette County).
The demolition was carried out under contract with Bierlein Demolition Contractors Inc. of Midland, Michigan, which has worked with Entergy on other controlled blasts at facilities in North Little Rock and Cleveland, Mississippi.
The generation plant, on the south side of Highway 82, was built in phases in 1947 and 1952. It produced its last power in 2013 and was later decommissioned.
Before the explosive charges could be set, the site had to be safely cleared of asbestos, lead-based paint and other harmful substances.
"It's a very precisely engineered process," Entergy's Sandra Davidson told the Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce in February, according to an account of the meeting in MagnoliaReporter.com. The implosion was coordinated with Lafayette County and Stamps public safety agencies and neighbors were notified. Traffic along the highway was also halted for a time during the demolition.
Entergy provided the following video of the implosion:
