Athlone Power Station’s final countdown comment count

• Experiences
• News
• July 20, 2010 ∥
• By Ingrid Sinclair

Last chance to see the Athlone Power Station’s cooling towers. Photo courtesy Danie van der Merwe

The calls have been answered, the assessments have been made and the date has been set: Cape Town’s own famous twin towers – the cooling towers of the Athlone Power Station – will see their last sunrise on the morning of Sunday, August 22. This date has been set aside for the demolition of the cooling towers, which were declared unsafe in February this year.

The Athlone Power Station, also referred to by locals as the Athlone Towers or the Cooling Towers, are well-known landmarks next to the N2 highway, especially to travellers on their way to or from Cape Town International Airport.

The station was built in 1960 and started producing coal-fired electricity in 1962. Production then went on standby between 1985 and 1994, and once again produced electricity for peak-time consumption between 1995 and 2003. In that year, it was ascertained that extensive and expensive upgrades would be required to keep the station in working order, and all electricity production was halted.

The towers were declared out of bounds for security reasons, due to damage caused to the structure by the prevailing southeasterly wind.

Then, one tower’s strengthening rings collapsed on Valentine’s Day this year and two independent consultants recommended that both towers be demolished as soon as possible. Strong winds could cause them to collapse unexpectedly.

Jet Demolition has been appointed to demolish the towers, and they’ll do so with explosives at noon on August 22. Members of the public will be notified where they can observe the demolition closer to the date.

Numerous roads in the area surrounding the towers, including the N2, will be closed for a spell on the day. Metrorail will also need to close some train lines for a few hours and indicated that closing their lines at noon will cause the least inconvenience to their Sunday customers. Because the demolition is happening on a weekend, the public also has the opportunity to witness this historic event.

Between now and August 22, Jet Demolition will drill over 3 000 holes per tower into which explosive charges will be placed.

As for the towers’ inhabitants (a pair of falcons who have lived on the cooling towers since the 1980s), their new accommodation is on the building next door. New nests have already been placed there and the birds are beginning to show interest in their new home.

“While it will be sad to lose the ‘two old ladies of Athlone’, they have served their purpose and have come to the end of their useful lives. The eventual re-use of the site ... will soften this loss and allow the power station site to be redeveloped in full, to the benefit of the whole area,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services Alderman Clive Justus.