By Karen Middleton
The old Limestone County jail is the gift that just keeps on giving.
Late last week the county hauled out some 70, 14-ton truckloads of the debris suitable for fill or riprap material and another five truckloads Monday, according to Brent Blackmon of MC Contracting that has been demolishing the old jail in recent weeks.
“We try to utilize everything that can be converted back into something useful,” said Blackmon. “The pneumatic hammers we use have to bust the concrete up anyway. We typically contact the county or city governments we’re working for and explain what we have as an end product and they generally want to utilize it in some way. It helps us and it helps them.
“We recycle quite a bit of the steel out. We load it at no cost to them. We provide the material and they provide the trucks and it works well for both of us.”
Blackmon said he hopes to finish the demolition job Wednesday.
“We’re in the final processes now,” he said. “We have one vertical cut to make Tuesday (today) with a track saw, then it’s just cleaning up and dressing the site.”
Blackmon said he and his crew have enjoyed their time in Athens.
“The people in Athens have been more than friendly,” he said. “I wish we could do another year’s work here, but we have to move on. Next up are jobs in Knoxville, Auburn and Chattanooga.”
