THUNDER BAY – Construction work on the High Street retaining wall is temporarily on hold after what is being described as an old explosive device was struck and detonated.
City project engineer Mike Vogrig said crews were using a backhoe with essentially a large jackhammer attached to break up rock when it struck the object late Tuesday afternoon.
“We’re assuming it’s some old explosive device they used to remove rock in previous construction. It could have been as long as 100 years ago when they were first building the wall,” Vogrig said on Wednesday.
“One of the neighbouring houses definitely felt it. She was talking with some of the personnel on site after it happened and they kind of explained to her what happened.”
Nobody was injured and the Ministry of Labour has been notified of the incident.
Work at the site has been temporarily ceased while the situation is evaluated. There is no immediate timeframe for when work will resume.
“We’ve been in contact with a demolition expert in Ottawa. We were directed to them by a local blasting company,” Vogrig said.
“They’re going to have some personnel come up here, assess the site and make determinations about potential for other devices that may have been left over in the ground and determine what we need to do to move forward with the work in a safe manner that’s safe to the public and the workers there.”
Work to replace the wall began in June after council voted to award the $2.1-million contract to Manshield Construction. The replacement of the wall, which had originally been part of the 2016 budget before being delayed for a year, also includes a new set of stairs, accessible ramp, improving drainage behind the wall and converting the part of Cornwall Avenue at the top to a one-way street.
The project had been proceeding on schedule and on budget prior to Tuesday’s incident, Vogrig said.
Coming across an explosive device like that on a job site in Thunder Bay is an unusual occurrence, Vogrig added.
“This is the first time I’ve ever encountered something like this,” Vogrig said. “It’s pretty unheard of from the guys I’ve been talking to about it as well.”
