MetService Tower Demolition

It was the end of an era for the long-standing MetService weather radar located in Rakaia, Canterbury. To allow for the construction of new radar with advanced technology and a robust 19 metre steel tower, this 30-year-old concrete tower was ear marked for demolition.

This exciting project involved the construction of a significantly reinforced concrete foundation to host the new steel.  The concrete foundation for the new structure was poured 9 meters from the existing tower. Due to its close proximity, we put protective measures in place to prevent damage to the foundation while the demolition of the old tower took place.

The demolition of the old weather radar and tower was completed using a combination of hand and machine demolition. A scaffold structure was constructed around the tower to provide safe access for our team to detach the radome and radar for removal by crane. Following the safe dismantling of the radar, the team commenced the hand demolition of the concrete tower down to a height accessible by a high reach excavator. Using a pulveriser attachment, the remaining tower was methodically broken down in a controlled manner, leaving only the existing foundation in place.

The picturesque site surrounded by farmland came with some undesirable environmental challenges. The gusty winds made conditions onsite very challenging at times, and in some cases required the team to close the site for safety reasons. With this being said the project was completed ahead of schedule and with great success.