A suspicious device was spotted near the U.S. Coast Guard property on Harbor Drive and prompted officials to close Harbor Drive to all traffic. After three hours, the road was reopened to traffic.
The Coast Guard site is located at 2710 North Harbor Drive. Officials ordered Harbor Drive -- from Laurel Street to an area known as Rent-a-Car Way -- closed to traffic as of approximately 1:30 p.m. The section of roadway is a main thoroughfare to Lindbergh Field. Traffic rapidly built up in all approaches to the airport.
Officials from local and national agencies were called out to the scene, including a bomb squad. After examining the device, the bomb squad determined it was no threat, according to San Diego Fire Rescue spokesman Maurice Luque.
The Coast Guard evacuated all non-essential personnel from the site, many of whom were standing about 200 yards away, as well as everybody else in the nearby area.
The device was apparently made out of PVC pipe, about 12 inches long with caps on each end, and about 4 inches in diameter. The device was discovered standing upright near a bike-path sign, Luque said.
Flights at San Diego International Airport were unaffected by the suspicious device according to an airport spokesperson. Flights continued to take off and land. The recommended arrival times of two hours before domestic departure times and three hours for international flights still stand.
People who have to reach the airport should take Interstate 5 to Rosecrans Street, and then turn south onto either Nimitz Boulevard or South Harbor Drive to the airport. Lindbergh Field's website offers several ways to reach its terminals. Click here for a variety of directions.
