Explosives will be used to demolish the structures of the National Stadium: the work will start on Monday

Vilnius City Municipality informs that UAB Vilniaus BDT, which is dismantling the National Stadium, will use explosives for the purpose of crushing down the structures. The first test explosion is scheduled for 29 August.

“During the removal of the structures of the National Stadium, the contractors encountered a noise issue – in order to comply with hygiene standards and not cause great discomfort to the residents of the surrounding areas, the company had to reduce the pace of work. Although it was planned to work with ten hydraulic hammers, only three were used due to noise pollution, which delayed the demolition work. The use of explosives will allow the work to be accelerated, causing less inconvenience to residents”, says Vilnius Deputy Mayor Valdas Benkunskas.

During the test explosion, on 29 August, 4 blasts are planned to be carried out. Based on the obtained results, an exact schedule of the remaining blasts will be drawn up later.

It is tentatively planned that the blasting works will take place within 6 weeks. One business day per week will be scheduled for such works, during which 5 blasts will take place at the construction site every 1.5 hours.

The sound of explosions at the border of the land plot may reach up to 120 decibels, but it will be very short and will last for about 4 seconds. Residents of the surrounding neighbourhoods may hear a thunder-like sound during the works. The foundations of the structures will be excavated, therefore the explosions will not cause vibrations. Residents will not experience any additional inconvenience.

The general emergency number and the police will be informed about the blasting works. The latter will allocate from 1 to 3 police crews to ensure discipline and security at the entrances to the construction site. Specialists of UAB Detonas and employees ensuring the security of the stadium will also be on duty at the construction site and assist the police.

The use of explosives in the demolition of heavy structures is not a new practice – such works have been carried out several times in the city of Vilnius. Near the Seimas, in the current territory of the Vilniaus Vartai office centre, the building of the former Computing Centre was demolished in this way. Also, during the reconstruction of the building located on Vilniaus Street, where Verslo centras 2000 is currently located, the foundations inside the building were crushed after the use of explosives. The water tower at the Vilnius sewage treatment plant was also demolished in this way. The largest object dismantled in this way in Lithuania is the Panemunė bridge in Kaunas.

The price of demolition works will not change – it will amount to EUR 297 thousand, excluding VAT. The works are included in the price of the Multi-Functional Complex Project, therefore the costs for them will be covered by the Multi-Functional Complex Project company UAB Vilniaus daugiafunkcis kompleksas. The completion of the demolition works is scheduled for this year.