Published: February 04, 2009 10:38 pm      

Bomb scare on Interstate

By Bob Belcher

Daily Sun



A construction crew’s discovery of what appeared to be a pair of “pipe bombs” prompted the closing of a section of Interstate 45 near Richland Wednesday afternoon.

A contractor for TxDOT made the discovery during excavation work on a box culvert being widened, according to Darwin Myers, area engineer for TxDOT.

“In doing that, they uncovered two ‘pipe devices’ and not knowing what they were, we contacted the Sheriff’s department,” Myers explained.

A bomb disposal unit from Fort Hood was dispatched to the scene and arrived around midday to handle the suspicious devices, said Mike Cox, chief deputy of the Navarro County Sheriff’s Department. The suspicious items were examined by x-ray at the scene and transported by the bomb squad back to Fort Hood for disposal.

TxDOT employees shut down the Interstate 45 and re-routed traffic for about an hour.

“We detoured southbound traffic at the exit just north of Richland Creek, and the northbound traffic we took off at FM 1394 at Richland,” Myers said. “We opened the main lanes at about 2:30.”

Southbound traffic was backed up for over five miles by early afternoon to near Angus. Many motorists tried exiting the highway, driving through a median to reach the outer road, only to find it backed up as well a short distance down the highway.

“Usually, Tuesday and Wednesday are lighter (traffic) than other days, but the way it is now, there’s not really a good day. But it did go smoothly,” Myers said.

A call to Fort Hood officials seeking comment on the incident was not returned by press time Wednesday.

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Bob Belcher may be reached via e-mail at belcher@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “Sound Off” on this story? E-mail: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com