Ann Arbor's Main Street reopens after gas leak
A masked DTE worker attempts to contain a gas leak on North Main Street Wednesday morning.
Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com
A gas main leak in Ann Arbor led to evacuations and traffic problems Wednesday morning.
North Main Street was closed between Catherine and Felch streets for about an hour around as DTE workers attempted to repair a gas main leak.
By 11:15 a.m., the gas was shut off and the road reopened, though gas crews were expected to still be working in the area which could affect the northbound righthand lane, Ann Arbor police said.
A backhoe ruptured the gas main Wednesday morning, according to officials.
"Water workers were working on the hydrant at Main and Kingsley and hit (it)," said Robert Vogel, battalion chief for the Ann Arbor Fire Department.
The leak caused the fire department to evacuate homes and businesses north of the intersection as DTE workers monitored the air. Other people in the area were told to stay inside.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
hmsp
Thu, Sep 27, 2012 : 1:49 a.m.
It can be hard to get people to take this stuff seriously. I had a war going on this very subject with a landlord in the 300 block of S Main: The gas meters and main feeds to several different businesses were located in the red-brick vaults directly below the sidewalks. Water dripped down through the cracks in the sidewalks onto the gas lines. And not just water, but also highly-corrosive ice-melt products as well! One 4" gas line was so corroded under one such drip that it had swelled at least 1" in overall diameter with rust build-up, and the line was just begging to burst, filling all of those under-sidewalk vaults, and their adjacent basements, with gas. But could I get a response from the landlord? Manana, manana. Another year – two, max – and I was expecting to see several businesses vaporized. Luckily, this over-extended and incompetent landlord was forced to sell, and the new landlords took the situation semi-seriously – they had the gas lines replaced, and had rubber mats draped over them to "prevent" future corrosion. Yeah, right... Tick, Tock, Tick Tock...
Peter
Wed, Sep 26, 2012 : 8:11 p.m.
DTE crew was there in no time, and had gas off within an hour. I thought the crew did a great job,although thoses guys are crazy getting in that hole with the gas blowing. God bless and be safe...