A portion of Queen Street was closed on Thursday evening to allow for additional demolition equipment to be delivered to the former General Hospital site.
The flatbed truck carrying a Liebherr 956 demolition excavator had to take the long way around the Sault to deliver its payload to the future demolition site. It came into the city via Highway 17, up Black Road, onto Second Line, down Carmen's Way and eventually made its was on Bay Street turning on Queen Street near the old hospital.
Queen Street East was closed between Church Street and Simpson Street to allow for the delivery.
It followed a similar piece of demolition equipment that was delivered on Monday and is being parked at the site until the final sale is completed by the City of Sault Ste. Marie to Green Infrastructure Partners Inc.
GIP has committed to fast-track demolition of the former General starting 30 to 45 days after the sale closing date, with a demolition duration expected to be six to eight weeks.
Last month, the city agreed to sell the old General Hospital building for one dollar and some other considerations to GIP, which is expected to pay most of the cost of demolishing the blighted structure.
— with files from David Helwig.