Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Feb. 18, 2025 – Crews are making progress in the demolition of the old Citizens Bank building.

In an email sent to local news outlets Tuesday, Donna Malone, Director of Communications, said crews have finished filling the tunnel underneath the building with concrete. She added that heavy equipment and machinery are beginning to arrive on site.

The equipment includes two excavators. A smaller one will be used to demolish the brick building behind the 70-year-old Citizens Bank building. A larger excavator, which is being delivered from Alabama, will be used on the Citizens Bank building itself.

Malone said the City has not yet received approval from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) on the demolition method to be used. However, she said the City expects approval from ADEQ “any day now.”

“[The approval] is exactly what we’re waiting on. There’s no doubt that the city has intentions to take this building down,” Malone said.

When the City Council voted in January to approve demolition of the building, the method planned for was wet demolition. Wet demolition involves spraying the part of the building currently being demolished with water, preventing any asbestos-containing material from becoming airborne. It is projected to cost $3.25 million and take eight to 12 weeks.

Since the demolition’s approval, utilities have been disconnected and decorative streetlights near the building have been removed. Additionally, traffic and signal lights on Main Street and Washington Avenue have been removed, with all-way stop signs installed in their place.

Additionally, the parking lot at the corner of Union Street and Washington Avenue has been closed and will remain so until all demolition and site repair are completed.

Parts of Main Street have been shut down since Sept. 25 when a bulge was noticed on the side of the old Citizens Bank building. Since then, there have been alternate traffic patterns downtown and a protection wall installed in front of First Horizon Bank.

“On behalf of the City, I do want to say that we respect the process that has to be carried out in order for this [demolition] to happen and that we are just as anxious as anyone else to see Main Street open again,” Malone said. “Continue to support those good folks that have great restaurants and the great little shops downtown so that we can get the building down safely and we can all go back to enjoying our downtown just in time for spring.”