Yellowknife (July 14/04) - Sunshine, fresh air, hardy meals and power tools -- construction workers have it all. So what could be better than having a job in construction? How about destruction.

"Demolition's a heavy, dirty business," said Shawn Mahoney, supervisor for Arctic Environmental Service Ltd.

He loves it anyway.

Mahoney and his crew are demolishing the Yellowknife Correctional Centre, the old jail on Kam Lake Road.

Heavy equipment is used mainly to tear everything down, but workers must remove hazardous material and anything worth salvaging beforehand.

Salvage from the job includes electrical hardware, one oven and three boilers.

"We save it because it's good economic business for us. We save it because it's good for the community," Mahoney said.

Out with the old

"The old YCC was built for 32 people," said Shirley Kemeys Jones, assistant deputy minister of the Department of Justice.

"We needed a facility for about 160 to 200 inmates."

Four separate renovations and additions since it was built in 1967 allowed it to accommodate over 200 inmates throughout the years, but it just couldn't cut it.

Using the building for purposes other than cell blocks was not feasible or cost effective.

"There isn't really any other use for it," Kemeys Jones said.

Smashing time

When everything that can't just be dumped is gone, it's time to start smashing. But, as anyone who remembers being a kid knows, breaking stuff is the easy and quick part. It's the picking up afterwards that requires more time.

"We take down the building and then we have to satisfy a whole bunch of concerns," Mahoney said.

The refuse must be sorted into separate piles, such as steel, concrete and wood. It is then disposed of or recycled in the most economical and efficient way.

This is the stage where the crew has been running into the most trouble. They are charged with the task of picking up every last piece of styrofoam insulation.

"It's the worst part of the job," Mahoney said.

Keeping all the little pieces in one pile when it's windy out is hard enough. Workers also have to keep the insulation in the back of a dump truck when they are hauling garbage off site.

To aid them with this task, they have canvas nets that cover the tops of the trucks when driving.

In case this goes awry, they have a backup plan.

"We have specific routes the trucks have to take," Mahoney said.

Every hour on the hour a crew will drive the haul routes and pick any garbage that may have blown out the back of a truck.

"The workforce here is excellent," Mahoney said. "We have high quality people here."

They better be patient, too. Once the demolition is finished and the big pieces of trash are cleared away, the crew will have to mobilize for one final clean-up. Every tiny bit of garbage will be bagged.

This task requires more workers than the actual demolition, an irony that does not escape Mahoney.

"Doing the lightest job requires the most people."

Around six people are working on site at any time. The demolition is expected to be finished by Friday.