Razing Michigan City’s Historic Coaling Tower

February 11, 2026

When Renascent was tasked with demolishing the Michigan City Coaling Tower, the assignment came with little margin for error. Built in 1923, the 100-foot-tall concrete structure once represented cutting-edge rail technology, allowing trains to refuel without leaving the main line. By 2025, however, the tower’s aging concrete posed a serious risk. All eastbound Amtrak trains exiting Chicago passed beneath the structure at speeds of up to 110 mph, and deteriorating concrete raised concerns that falling debris could strike a live train.

The solution required more than brute force. It demanded precise planning, innovative protection strategies and flawless execution — delivered within an exceptionally tight shutdown window.

Why Renascent Was Selected

NDA member Renascent was chosen based on its technical demolition design, safety program and ability to think creatively under complex constraints. LIDAR drone mapping and modeling were used extensively during planning, allowing the team to simulate the demolition sequence and evaluate protective measures before a single machine arrived onsite.

Beating the Clock

Amtrak initially anticipated a 25-day demolition timeline. Renascent proposed a 10-day track outage, which was ultimately reduced to just five days prior to demolition. Work began Sept. 15, 2025, and the entire structure was brought down in a single shift. The following day, footers were removed and all debris was hauled offsite. On day three, Renascent crews used their own equipment to help Amtrak replace the track, finishing well ahead of schedule and giving the rail operator time to complete unexpected maintenance during the remaining outage window.

Equipment Deployed

• Cat 349EL excavator
• Komatsu 80ZV loader
• Hitachi ZX870 LCH-3 high reach
• Cat 352 UHD high reach
• Two Cat 336FL excavators
• Cat D350E off-road truck
• JLG 80’ man lift
• Liebherr LTM 1060-3.1 all-terrain crane
• Cat D6 dozer

A Strategy Built Around Protection

The demolition followed a top-down mechanical approach with wet-method dust suppression. The biggest challenges were track protection, time constraints and proximity to a busy highway and nearby homes and businesses.

Amtrak’s original engineering concept called for flooding the tracks with ballast and covering them with crane mats and steel plates. To reduce the outage duration, Renascent proposed an alternative: removing 300 linear feet of each rail line before demolition and reinstalling them afterward. This approach eliminated the need for extensive track shielding and significantly shortened the shutdown.

Additional protective measures included closing one lane of adjacent roadway and placing construction dumpsters in the lane to shield traffic. A sacrificial 40-foot shipping container was suspended by crane alongside the tower to intercept any errant debris. Dust migration was controlled using a 3,000-gallon water truck, with an Indiana Department of Environmental Management representative on-site and a Casella air monitor deployed to verify air quality throughout the operation.

Step-by-Step Execution

Once the final train cleared the site, Amtrak suspended rail traffic and cut the rails into 150-foot sections, leaving them spiked to the ties. Using a Cat 349E and Cat 336F, Renascent operators rigged and lifted the track sections in unison, placing them onto adjacent rail lines.

An interior controlled access zone was then established, allowing only the two high-reach excavators and their operators inside. A Hitachi ZX870 began dismantling the tower from the top down, supported by water spray from an 80-foot man lift. When the structure was lowered into reach of the Cat 352 UHD high reach, both operators worked simultaneously, maintaining constant radio communication to safely complete the takedown.

Once on the ground, one Cat 336 processed the concrete into manageable sections while the second loaded material into an off-road truck for hauling along the Amtrak right-of-way to Woodruff and Sons Construction’s yard. There, the concrete was further processed and all rebar removed using the Cat 349. The site was graded with a dozer, and Renascent crews coordinated with Amtrak to rebuild the track bed and reposition the removed rail sections for final connection.

Crew Size and Sustainability

The job was completed with a 12-person crew. Nearly 100% of the project materials were recycled or reused. All concrete was crushed and resold, rebar was sent to a scrap yard, and even erosion control logs were dismantled and reused to protect newly seeded areas. The only material sent to landfill was a single bag of trash.

Measuring Success

The project faced intense public interest, requiring a full-time Amtrak police presence to manage spectators safely. Despite the visibility, compressed schedule and sensitive surroundings, the demolition concluded ahead of time without incident.

For Sean Floyd, project manager at Renascent, success was defined simply: Amtrak was thrilled with the results, the schedule was beaten and “the first-aid kit was still wrapped in plastic.”