Broad St. Garage

In the aftermath of the tragic 2013 Philadelphia building collapse that killed six people, city officials deemed the cause to be contractor error, pushing them to pass sweeping reforms and look with intense scrutiny at similar demolition projects.

In 2015 developers wanted to demolish a 10-story parking garage in the heart of the city, just a few blocks from both the collapse site and historic City Hall. Fronting on busy Broad Street and nestled tightly between three other buildings, the 87-year-old structure was already known to the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I), as they had closed it years earlier for structural violations.

Faced with the daunting task of safely removing the dilapidated garage, the owner’s contractor, JPC Group, Inc, approached Cutting Technologies (CTI) to tackle the difficult job.

CTI’s engineer created a work plan that balanced fast, efficient progress with safe, controlled demolition of the building. Then, using slab saws, wire saws and robotic breakers, CTI’s technicians carefully deconstructed the building floor by floor, taking down each slab, beam and column as they went.

Working under the watchful eye of OSHA and L&I inspectors, CTI implemented job-specific safety measures that achieved the contractor’s goals within schedule and budget, and without jeopardizing the welfare of workers, live traffic and the pedestrians below.