By Luke Voogt
An explosive which could be almost 90 years old fell onto the Great Ocean Road on Wednesday, forcing traffic closures for several hours.
Workers dislodged an old stick of gelignite on Wednesday afternoon, which Lorne Leading Senior Constable Mick Atkinson believed dated back to the road’s construction in 1932.
“The contractors and Worksafe inspectors are of the opinion that it’s been there since the construction of the Great Ocean Road – so we’re talking the 1930s,” he said.
“As the contractors were descaling loose rock, they’ve dislodged one rock which has fallen to the road and cracked.”
Inside was an unexploded 40cm stick of gelignite broken into several pieces, Ld Sen Const Atkinson said.
The workers were understandably surprised and apprehensive, he added.
“People who don’t have any experience in explosives would obviously treat this with a fair degree of caution.”
The workers used traffic cones to close the road before police arrived to divert traffic.
“Our job as police was to ensure that the scene was isolated, secured and safe,” Ld Sen Const Atkinson said.
“We take all precautions to ensure nothing can go wrong.”
Police closed the Great Ocean Road between Cumberland River and Lorne for several hours as two Worksafe specialists removed the explosive.
“They are the experts in removing and disposing these items,” Ld Sen Const Atkinson.
“It may be routine thing for them but it’s certainly not for us.”
Police conducted further traffic diversions around Wye River, before reopening the road several hours later.
The explosives posed no threat to public safety during the operation to remove them, a Victoria Police spokesperson said.
A Worksafe spokesperson said the explosive was most likely a “relic from the road’s construction” but was unable to confirm the origin beyond doubt.
“An exclusion zone was established and WorkSafe destroyed the explosive material by burning it,” the spokesperson said.
“There were no injuries as a result of the incident.”
The Worksafe specialists found no detonator attached to or in the vicinity of the explosive, the spokesperson said.
The chance of Gelignite exploding without something to detonate is extremely unlikely, due to its composition.
