May 26, 2005
People around St. Annes felt the earth move. It wasn't an earthquake, but an explosion.
"I heard a loud blast, not too loud and I felt the ground rumble," said Etta Legner, St. Annes Lower School Director. "One of the children thought maybe it was a thunderstorm coming up, and we were curious why was it bout to thunderstorm when the sun was still shining."
The blast is to make way for the North Grounds Connector that is suppose to make traffic easier for those traveling to and from the new John Paul Jones Arena.
Cars on 250 were stopped during the explosion, but Dick Laurance, Director of Project for the arena, says the explosion was never a danger to anyone.
"The purpose of the blast was to loosen up the rock, " said Laurance. "We covered it up with about four feet of earth to create a overburden so that none of the rock would escape."
Two more blasts are planned, the earliest set for next Thursday.
