Rossdale smokestacks to be demolished

EPCOR isabout to take down three large smokestacks at its Rossdale power plant in Edmontons river valley.

It's part ofthe plan to decommission the high-pressure power plant that has sat in the river valley for years.

The company has been preparing for the demolitionsince February.

"We will have an archeologist of record on sight at all times when any ground disturbance occurs, in case there may be anything discovered there," said EPCOR spokesman Tim le Riche.

"And we will make sure that the deconstruction process has minimal environmental impact, as much as we can."

The powerplant sits on Rossdale Flats, a gathering place for aboriginals for thousands of years and the original site of Fort Edmonton.

A crane will remove the smoke stacks in pieces over the next few weeks in what le Riche calls a "painstaking process."

The land will eventually be turned into green space and will improve access to walking trails along the river, said le Riche.

The brick low-pressure plant next door is a historical site, and will remain as is.

The smokestacks could start coming down Friday, depending on the weather.

During the work, some of the walking trails around the site will be blocked.