Idaho transportation workers find 2 explosives under bridge

Idaho construction contractors ran into something scary on Halloween as they conducted maintenance repairs on the Idaho 45 bridge over the Snake River: two unexploded military ordnances.

According to an Idaho Transportation Department press release, divers working on the bridge repairs dove into the river to inspect the base of a bridge pier on Oct. 31. While underwater, they discovered the first ordinance. The contractor contacted the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, and a bomb squad arrived from Nampa Police Department to remove the device.

The nature of the explosive ordnance device wasn’t immediately clear, nor was it apparent how the devices ended up in the river. The Statesman has reached out to to the Mountain Home Air Force Base officials for more information.

“The Mountain Home Air Force Base received the device and safely detonated it off-site,” ITD said in the release.

The next day, the second ordnance was found nearby. Both devices were about 20 feet underwater. The construction crews again halted work and contacted the Air Force base’s explosive ordnance device unit. The EOD unit determined the device wasn’t an immediate risk to boaters or bridge travelers, so removal was delayed a week until Nov. 9.

A Navy dive team removed the second device and swept the area for any additional ordnances, ITD said. The bridge was closed during that time. No other devices were found in the immediate area, but ITD said it will continue to sweep around the site before maintenance continues.