So we imploded a building. Now what?

With a series of loud bangs and a ground-shaking rumble, the old Red Side Rental Car Garage came tumbling down in 14 short seconds early on the morning of Aug. 20 – the combination of months of careful planning and preparation.

Now the heavy lifting begins.

Over the course of the next four months, a mechanized army will chomp and tear away at the remnants of the former seven-floor garage, hauling it away one dump truck load at a time. All told, it will take some 2,000 dump trucks to remove more than 32,000 tons of building.

The material – a mix of concrete and rebar – is destined for a spot on the north end of the Airport’s property where it will eventually be processed and reused as roadway base for future projects.

“The implosion brought the building down, but the project is far from over,” said Senior Construction Manager Dan Seeley. “Passengers and employees will see a lot of dump trucks on the roads over the next few months.”

Removing the garage is critical to the Airport’s expansion.

The demolition makes room for new express curbsides, designed for passengers with no checked bags, as well as upcoming facility improvements, including a new guideway to the future 16-gate Airside D. Airside D is included in the final phase of the Master Plan, and when it’s complete TPA will have capacity for 34 million passengers every year.