It will be another six weeks before the Yukon Territorial Court decides who was responsible for a dangerous blast done on the Hamilton Boulevard extension project in May 2008.

The 423-hole blast sent a shower of rocks falling on the Lobird Park trailer court on the evening of May 6, 2008, the court heard last week. The rocks narrowly missed a number of people and did significant damage to homes and property.

Speaking at the end of four days of evidence and arguments, Judge John Faulkner said last Thursday he usually prides himself on delivering quick verdicts, but wouldn't be doing so in this case. He reserved his decision until May 14.

The Yukon's Department of Community Services, contractor P.S. Sidhu Tricking Ltd. and site supervisor Bill Cratty all stand accused of allowing an unsafe rock blast.

In her closing arguments, Crown prosecutor Lenore Morris said all three defendants shared responsibility for the incident and should have stopped blaster Peter Hildebrand from setting off such a large blast when the trailer park was just 350 metres away.

Hildebrand pleaded guilty to the charges against him last month and was fined $1,000. During last week's trial, he told the court he didn't realize the trailer park was so close, nor did anyone else call it to his attention, even though his blasting proposal was given to the Community Services inspector before the explosives were detonated.

Although Sidhu and Cratty were both in the courtroom for the entire trial, neither man took the stand.

Instead, the three defence lawyers relied largely on the evidence given by the Crown's witnesses.

They pointed out that Hildebrand himself told the court he was the blasting expert on site and he alone was responsible for safety precautions taken during a blast.

These precautions included setting up guard posts around the perimeter of the blast, Hildebrand said.

They also pointed to the evidence given by Richard Scott Parker, a blasting expert who told the court that although he may have done some things differently, such as placing a guard at the entrance to the trailer park, such precautions wouldn't necessarily have prevented the rock shower.

Work on the project was halted immediately after the incident. Blasting did not resume until mid-June, after Parker and Hildebrand had made new blasting proposals with increased safety precautions, the court heard.

The $16-million extension was completed last summer, and opened to motorists on Aug. 5, 2009.