Suspected bomb led to closing of streets

By William K. Alcorn

The metal cylindrical object turned out not to be a bomb.

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — A suspected bomb in a storm sewer beneath Wilmington Avenue caused businesses to be evacuated and streets in the area closed to traffic for several hours Thursday afternoon.

The device, which turned out to not be a bomb, is a metal, cylindrical object about 6 inches in diameter with a pin protruding from one end and with some internal gears. It was retrieved from the sewer by the Allegheny County Bomb Squad.

Once it was hosed off, the bomb squad determined it was not an explosive device, said David Joseph, assistant New Castle fire chief.

Joseph said the scare began when a private contractor entered the sewer to determine the cause of a leak at Edwards Restaurant & Lounge at 909 Wilmington Avenue.

The workman stumbled across the object that had settled into the sediment, thought it looked like a bomb, and called New Castle police. A policeman then went into the sewer, and when he couldn’t make a positive determination that it was not a bomb, the bomb squad was called, Joseph said.

For safety reasons, several businesses along Wilmington Avenue were evacuated. Also, the street was closed to traffic between Garfield and Wallace Avenues, as were several streets that feed into Wilmington Avenue, including Laurel, Moody, Edison, Winter and Leasure avenues, Joseph said.

Safety forces left the scene about 5 p.m.

alcorn@vindy.com