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Civil War-era shell causes a stir in Shockoe
By Bill Wasson
Richmond Times-Dispatch
December 13, 1862
A standoff in Shockoe Bottom between the Richmond police bomb squad and what appeared to be an unexploded Civil War-era artillery shell brought traffic on Interstate 95 to a stop last night.
At 7:47 p.m., the confrontation ended with a loud boom, flying dirt and intravenous bags when the bomb squad blew up the shell, setting off a couple of car alarms and clearing the way for normal traffic on I-95.
A bomb squad member had stacked standard intravenous bags filled with saline solution around the shell to absorb the blast, police spokeswoman Karla Peters said.
She said Richmond police had requested that traffic on I-95 be halted as a precaution. The interstate, which reopened at 8:02 p.m., was closed for less than 30 minutes, state police Sgt. Kevin A. Barrick said.
A construction worker operating a backhoe unearthed the shell shortly after 5 p.m. in an undeveloped lot in the 1500 block of East Cary Street beneath I-95 , police said.
The lot is across East Main Street from Main Street Station and is getting a makeover as part of a $3 million project to improve parking, lighting, drainage and pedestrian access.
The lot, to be known as the Plaza at Main Street, will serve as a site for festivals, a stop for tour buses and a drop-off point for rail passengers.
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Video coverage, including detonation, can be found here: http://www.nbc12.com/news/state/4902581.html
Eric
By Bill Wasson
Richmond Times-Dispatch
December 13, 1862
A standoff in Shockoe Bottom between the Richmond police bomb squad and what appeared to be an unexploded Civil War-era artillery shell brought traffic on Interstate 95 to a stop last night.
At 7:47 p.m., the confrontation ended with a loud boom, flying dirt and intravenous bags when the bomb squad blew up the shell, setting off a couple of car alarms and clearing the way for normal traffic on I-95.
A bomb squad member had stacked standard intravenous bags filled with saline solution around the shell to absorb the blast, police spokeswoman Karla Peters said.
She said Richmond police had requested that traffic on I-95 be halted as a precaution. The interstate, which reopened at 8:02 p.m., was closed for less than 30 minutes, state police Sgt. Kevin A. Barrick said.
A construction worker operating a backhoe unearthed the shell shortly after 5 p.m. in an undeveloped lot in the 1500 block of East Cary Street beneath I-95 , police said.
The lot is across East Main Street from Main Street Station and is getting a makeover as part of a $3 million project to improve parking, lighting, drainage and pedestrian access.
The lot, to be known as the Plaza at Main Street, will serve as a site for festivals, a stop for tour buses and a drop-off point for rail passengers.
Video coverage, including detonation, can be found here: http://www.nbc12.com/news/state/4902581.html
Eric
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