By Greg Knight, News of the North
If you ran into a roadblock Monday night on Mendenhall Loop Road, between Mint and View, there was a good reason for it.
According to the Alaska Department of Transportation, a hiker reported seeing what appeared to be old explosives (which was later confirmed by Juneau Police Department) near the Mendenhall River Bridge, prompting an inspection.
Sam Dapcevich, ADOT’s spokesperson, told News of the North that the agency temporarily closed a section of Mendenhall Loop Road while JPD conducted their investigation.
According to Dapcevich, the location where the explosives were reported is near the Mendenhall River Bridge, which was built in 1985 to replace an older structure. Dapcevich said it’s possible that explosives used during the demolition of the previous bridge did not fully detonate and were later buried by demolition debris. Over time, repeated glacial outburst floods may have uncovered those materials.
According to JPD Commander Matt Dubois, a team of Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers recovered commercial blast material from the scene.
The roadblock was cleared by 7:30 p.m. Monday night.
