Springdale residents living near a former power plant are suing to stop its implosion Friday morning.
A judge has ordered the company, Grant Mackay Co., hired to bring down the Cheswick Generating Station to hold off on placing charges until there's a ruling on the lawsuit filed by 16 residents.
An emergency motion for a preliminary injunction is being heard Wednesday afternoon in Allegheny County Court.
The residents had property damage after the power plant's smokestack was brought down in June and they're concerned Friday's implosion will do even more damage.
The implosion is currently scheduled for after 8 am Friday.
Allegheny County released final details on the implosion earlier this week.
If the demolition is able to go forward, the following streets will close at 5 a.m. on Friday, Chestnut Street, Duquesne Court, Garfield Street, Grant Street, Lincoln Avenue, Maxwell Avenue, Mellon Alley, Mills Alley, Murrayhill Avenue, N Duquesne Avenue, Porter Street, S Duquesne Avenue, and Standard Avenue. At 7 AM, Freeport Road and Pittsburgh Street will be completely closed from Murrayhill Avenue in Cheswick to Colfax Street in Springdale Borough.
Residents will be able to leave the area before 7 a.m., but after no one will be able to enter or leave the area, with police on hand to enforce.
Sirens will be activated at the 10, 5- and 1-minute mark, along with the 30 second mark.
The county says this implosion is going to be bigger than the one in June.
The photo at the top of the story shows the evacuation zone, (red with lines), shelter-in-place zone (blue with lines) and the full exclusion zone (large red circular shape around the area).
Residents have been informed that they could see dust, hear loud noises and feel vibrations, going door to door.
“All utilities have implemented plans to ensure continuity of service, and representatives from each of the utilities will be on site to quickly react to and remediate any issues that arise,” the county said in a statement.