Neighbors thankful to be alive after VA Medical Center blasting damages property
Neighbors are thankful to be alive after a blasting mishap at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center construction site sent rocks flying into nearby houses.
The incident damaged several homes, shocked drivers on the Watterson Expressway and left people in the area scared for their safety.
Ana María Padilla Moreno lives on Bedford Lane, just minutes away from the construction site on Brownsboro Road. She was out having lunch with her one-year-old daughter on Tuesday afternoon when a rock came crashing through her roof and shattered her stove.
Padilla Moreno is a nutritionist. She told WLKY she spends 80% of her day cooking and is lucky she was not in the kitchen when it happened.
"It's really sad, but it's a blessing that it was the stove and not us," she said while holding her daughter María.
Padilla Moreno is not the only one cleaning up rock fragments in the Graymoor-Devondale neighborhood.
Just down the street, another rock from the blast obliterated a woman's bathroom.
The Army Corps of Engineers is now speaking out about the incident and damage to surrounding property.
"Safety is always going to be our number one priority," spokesperson Matthew Lowe told WLKY.
Lowe said he is thankful no one was injured in the blast but acknowledged that does not minimize the impact on people's homes and property.
Three independent investigations into the incident are underway, conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers, project contractor Walsh-Turner Joint Venture II, and the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals.
"We did not expect this to happen out here, and that's the reason that we're taking this investigation so seriously, because we want to make sure nothing like this ever happens again," Lowe said.
Construction for the new VA Medical Center will continue, but blasting will be suspended throughout the investigations.
Meanwhile, the community is demanding more safety measures be implemented to protect neighbors like Ana María and her daughter.
Anyone who believes their property was damaged from the blasting incident should contact Army Corps of Engineers public affairs by emailing LOUVAMCconstruction@usace.army.mil.