Hyatt Regency West

 

 

At 12:15 AM, Sunday, October 7th, 2001, the Hyatt Regency West, located at the Dallas / Fort Worth Airport stepped down to make room for newer and better things.

The early morning implosion is a major milestone for the construction of a new terminal project, which is scheduled to open in 2005. The world-class International Terminal D will come equipped with 23 wide-body aircraft gates and will accommodate 37,000 passengers daily or 12.8 million annually.  International Terminal D will also feature an integrated 300-room Grand Hyatt Hotel that will replace its predecessor in fine style.
 

The demolition of the hotel is being performed by Cherry Demolition with Leonard Cherry heading up the company.  Based out of Houston, Texas, Cherry Demolition handles a variety of demolition, dismantling, abatement, and salvage operations for the Gulf Coast area and beyond.
Preparations for the implosion began back in August.  Holes were drilled in load bearing columns, sheer walls were weakened or removed, windows and facades were eliminated in preparation for the upcoming implosion.

While Hyatt Regency West was being stripped and prepped, Jim Redyke was busy with airport officials working on dust control, site security, and air traffic coordination plans.  The Hyatt Regency West Hotel was right next to one of the operating terminals and several runways within the airport itself.

 

Settled dust on the runway and gate areas could be sucked into the air intakes on the jet airliners causing severe damage to the engines.  The entire area surrounding the doomed building was blanketed with a soaking layer of water to settle the existing dust.  An army of street and runway sweepers stood ready to clear any dust from the nearby terminal area and the runways immediately after the implosion.

 

 
The implosion was scheduled near midnight during the slowest period of air traffic to allow workers maximum time to remove any dust from sensitive areas with minimal impact on normal airport operations.
Security around the site was strict.  Onsite visitors had to be pre-registered.  All workers had to have badge identification to work onsite.  Airport security was set up and vigilant at all access points to the implosion site.  Many spectators reserved rooms at the nearby Hyatt Regency East, located directly across the main airport access road.  The Hyatt Regency East is a twin of the doomed Hyatt Regency West which stands in the path of progress.
At midnight, the fifteen minute warning is heard over hundreds of security radios and intercom systems.  Spectators fill the west side of the Hyatt Regency across the road.  Hundreds of people line the fences in the designated spectator areas onsite. 

Ten minutes after midnight, sirens herald the last 5 minutes in the life of the hotel.  Hundreds of cameras are checked and rechecked.  The time is near.

At 60 seconds another warning is issued, then at 30 seconds the final warning comes as an audible voice from Jim Redyke over the radios.  A ten second countdown echoes over the implosion site.  The revelry from Hyatt Regency East, which could be heard all over the jobsite, suddenly hushed and grew silent.  The doomed hotel stood proudly.  It's graceful lines and impressive presence evident to the end.

 

The countdown reached zero and the flashes of light from the initiation system could be plainly seen, marching across the floors of the hotel.  Thirteen seconds later, Hyatt Regency West settled gracefully to a heap of rubble, surrounded by an active airport.

Five minutes after the Hotel settled into a pile of rubble, the army of dust control personnel radioed to let the airport know that no dust settled on the runways or the terminal area.  Dallas Fort Worth Regional airport returned to business as usual.

No two implosion projects are the same, and this one was no exception.  The success of any of them would not be possible without the combined efforts of all who are involved.  We at Dykon Blasting would like to thank everyone for their support and cooperation which contributed to the overall success of this implosion.
Through the years, it has been our privilege of working with many fine organizations.  The magnitude of this project extends far beyond the implosion of a single building.  This implosion project was conducted in harmony with a massive construction project which is well under way at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport.  Dozens of contractors and other entities are working in conjunction on this project.  Thousands of workers were working alongside and near us as we worked on this project.
The Dallas Fort Worth Airport provided round the clock security for our operations and we are grateful for their support and trust in us. 
Cherry Demolition has been a long time client of Dykon Blasting.  Their professionalism and dedication to excellence is directly reflected in the success of this project.  We would like to express our thanks to Leonard Cherry and his fine organization who provided enormous support during this project.
Austin Commercial is heading up this entire construction project.  Their cooperation and support allowed us to complete our part of this project safely and on schedule.  Our thanks go out to the fine folks at Austin Commercial as well. 

 

Click on the image above to open a video clip of the Hyatt Regency Implosion at the DFW Airport.

The video clip is about 2 megabytes.  Your patience as it downloads is appreciated.

Smaller Version