Beaver County says parking-garage demolition on schedule; staff orders survey to confirm property lines and tree policy limits

Beaver County staff reported that demolition at a downtown parking garage has begun and that crews are taking extra steps to locate buried reinforcement and utilities while also commissioning a property-boundary survey to resolve encroaching vegetation.

Dan, a county staff member, told the Board of Commissioners during the Sept. 17 work session that demolition crews are using jackhammers and a method described in the meeting as “chain drag” to locate cables and rebar before excavation. “They find a way. It’s almost like the old line rods…they drive a chain across it, and it makes a little hollow and solid parallel issue,” Dan said.

County staff said the project team ordered surveying work to confirm exact property lines after trees and shrubs were found growing into the side of the parking garage. The county noted that a local shade-tree policy governs cutting and removal and that survey results will be used to avoid encroaching on private property.

Dan said crews have found multiple instances of buried material and that, despite the extra work, the contractor remains “right on schedule,” with staff describing the near-term timeline as a matter of “two to three weeks” of continued activity.

The department head who opened the reports, Tony, announced the demolition item as part of routine department updates; the meeting record does not specify a contractor name, contract value, or an exact completion date.

The work session then moved on to other agenda items.