Excavator Hits WWII Artillery Shell Under Warsaw's Aleja Solidarności, Sapping City Traffic

A routine infrastructure upgrade on one of Warsaw's busiest thoroughfares came to an abrupt halt on Tuesday morning when an excavator operator unearthed an unexploded ordnance, forcing a massive police and military response. The object, found just beneath the tram tracks, is believed to date back to the Second World War.

The Discovery

Construction crews were working on a tram track modernization project along Aleja Solidarności when they struck the shell. The find was reported to police shortly before 7:00 on 4 August by an excavator operator whose machine had snagged on the object during the excavation.

“The report of an object dug out of the ground during track renovation works came in before 7:00. Officers from the miners-pyrotechnics reconnaissance unit on site have preliminarily confirmed the dangerous unexploded shell likely dates back to World War II.”

The construction site is registered at Aleja Solidarności 95/99; the shell itself lay by the building at number 101, close to the corner of ulica Orla, between Plac Bankowy and the former Femina cinema. Initial police estimates describe the object as an artillery shell, approximately 60 to 70 centimeters long and about 30 centimeters in diameter. It was not immediately clear whether the object was a complete charge or merely a casing.

Emergency Response

Police immediately cordoned off the area and called for a military sapper patrol. The district police spokesperson issued urgent advisories to residents of nearby buildings, instructing them to stay away from windows and avoid going outside. Warsaw coverage of the operation reported no buses being staged for an evacuation.

“An unexploded ordnance was found at the construction site at the address Al. Solidarności 95/99. Sappers are on the scene. Recommendations were issued for residents, including not to go near the windows and not to go outside. Traffic in the area was blocked for the duration of lifting the shell.”

No evacuation had been ordered by midday, and at that stage it was not known whether one would be needed while the shell was lifted and taken away. The final decision on whether to widen the security perimeter was left to the sappers after their detailed inspection of the device.

Transport Chaos in the City Center

The discovery paralyzed a critical segment of Aleja Solidarności, the boundary between the Wola and Śródmieście districts. The road was shut down in both directions between aleja Jana Pawła II and Plac Bankowy, diverting hundreds of vehicles. Public transport was severely impacted. Warsaw Public Transport confirmed that buses on lines 190 and Z26 were rerouted through a network of side streets, including aleja Jana Pawła II, the ONZ roundabout, Świętokrzyska, Marszałkowska, and Plac Bankowy, causing significant delays during the morning commute.

Tramwaje Warszawskie stated that construction work would not resume, and the street would not reopen, until the sappers' operation was fully completed.

A City Built on History

The discovery of unexploded ordnance in Warsaw is a recurring consequence of the city's near-total destruction during World War II. Modern construction projects, particularly deep excavations for public transport infrastructure, routinely uncover buried shells, bombs, and other military remnants from the period. In this case, the object lay undisturbed for approximately eight decades directly beneath a tram line used daily by thousands of passengers. The sappers' assessment will determine the next phase of the disposal and whether it will require a temporary evacuation of the densely populated city-center neighborhood.