LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Close to 200 laborers are hard at work at the site of the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, stripping the interior and starting the legwork to remove asbestos, all to prep the whole property for complete demolition and an October implosion.
Crews with Laborers Local 872 gave FOX5 an exclusive inside look with footage of laborers at work. Starting with the Bungalow hotel rooms– the low-rise set of hotel rooms overlooking the pool area–teams are stripping rooms of carpets, scraping the wall and wallpaper, and taking down drywall. Underneath the massive layers, crews will find asbestos and start the work of removing contaminants.
FOX5 told you how an environmental consulting company inspection indicated asbestos in different parts of the Tropicana hotel, given its age. Northstar Contracting tells FOX5, crews soak asbestos to prevent its spread, then remove it in about six months.
“That’s what Laborers Local 872 focuses on: we’ve been training for asbestos forever,” said Lou DeSalvio, president of Laborers Local 872. “It’s very tedious work,” he said, noting crews will have to conduct contamination protocols in appropriate protective gear.
The initial work to remove asbestos in the Bungalow area will start in two weeks.
Crews will eventually make their way into the tower, where the interior will be stripped to a shell of its former self.
“It’s going to be bare-bones concrete. Then the blasting company, of course, will go in there and they’ll do whatever drilling they need to do. You should be able to just about see through it, other than the facade on the outside… When the implosion happens, there’s not debris flying,” DeSalvio said.
Laborers will also participate in the eventual construction of the Athletics stadium on the other side of the parcel of land, and Bally’s still plans for a future property at the site of the Tropicana hotel with an homage to sports.
Laborers will also work on the the Brightline project, which is set to break ground later this year.
“Every time a job is created, it gives us the ability to provide a career path for somebody. The undertaking of the demolition of the Tropicana, the building of a stadium and the proposed tower and proposed casino…job creation is second to none for us to be able to grow,” DeSalvio said.
FOX5 highlighted job opportunities with the Laborers Local 872 and opportunities for apprenticeships for high school graduates.
For more information, click here: Laborers Local 872
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