The state will implode the old Georgia Archives building in the shadow of the Capitol at about 7 a.m. on Sunday, and Gov. Nathan Deal will be there to watch.
The old archives building, nicknamed the White Ice Cube, will make way for a state courts building. Deal has included $105 million to build the new facility in his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, a measure that has already passed the state House.
Georgia Building Authority officials said there will be a public viewing area at the corner of Memorial Drive and Martin St., although there will be no special parking available at that location.
There will be rolling lane closures on interstates downtown and some areas, such as Capitol Ave. and Memorial Drive near the site, will be closed to traffic between 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Interstate road closures will run from 6:50 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.
Preparation for the implosion will begin Sunday at about 4 a.m. and work will continue after the event.
Warning signals will begin sounding at 6:45, Deal will speak at about 6:55 in a parking lot behind Liberty Plaza, and five-year-old Devin Simmons, a Children’s Health Care of Atlanta patient with sickle cell anemia, will pull the plunger to cue the implosion at 6:59 a.m.
Previous implosions
The old archives was built in 1965 on Capitol Avenue. About three decades after it opened, engineers determined that it was sinking due to groundwater and nearby interstate construction. Estimates to repair and refurbish the archives hit $40 million.
Instead of spending the money, a new archives facility was built near Clayton State University, and the old archives building has been used as a movie set on and off for years.
Governors have sought to tear down it down since the move. But lawmakers have been skeptical about spending money on the project.
Last year they approved a state budget that included Deal’s proposal to borrow $6.5 million for design and site preparation for the new judicial complex.
