Gas line rupture closes Washington St. for 3 hours

On Tuesday in the midst of the streetscape project in downtown Greencastle, construction crews hit a gas line on Washington Street near City Hall. Crews from Vectren, Miller Pipeline Corporation and Greencastle Fire Department worked to fix the damaged gas line that closed a part of Washington Street for several hours. The gas line was hit when construction crews were digging up concrete to replace the sidewalks. Residents in the immediate vicinity were evacuated as a precaution.

A natural gas line lurking too near the surface led to the shutdown of East Washington Street (U.S. 231) for approximately three hours Tuesday afternoon.

Shortly after 3 p.m., a construction crew working on the Washington Street streetscape project was preparing to pour concrete for the ramp for the alley that runs between the Styling Station and Catalina Beauty Salon on the north side of the street.

Using a backhoe to excavate the area, a worker clipped and ruptured a two-inch natural gas line.

The Greencastle Fire Department was dispatched to the scene at 3:16 p.m. Assistant Chief Jeff Mace said the department's first order of business was to secure the area and make sure nearby buildings were evacuated.

In getting people out of the buildings, they also made sure all doors and windows were closed to keep gas from getting into the buildings.

Additionally, Washington Street was closed from the Putnam County Courthouse on the west to Bloomington Street on the east. Traffic was also restricted for one block north and south of Washington on all cross streets.

Upon the arrival of responders from Vectren, along with Miller Pipeline Corp., personnel set to work fixing the problem.

Believing it to be a one-way line, they initially excavated to the east of the leak to stop the flow of gas. As the line was closed, the loud hissing quieted, but did not stop.

Workers then set to work to the west of the leak, digging down and closing off the other direction.

Approximately one hour after the accident, the hissing of the leak had stopped.

Mace told the Banner Graphic one fortunate thing was that the breached line was not still buried, as no pockets of gas formed underground.

"The good thing is, natural gas goes up," Mace said.

The gas scent could be detected as far west as the Banner Graphic building, and the sound of the leaking gas was audible for multiple blocks in all directions.

In the end, however, the biggest problem was three hours of diverted traffic.

Although the leak was contained by 4:15 p.m., crews remained on the scene until after 6 p.m. installing a new gas line. During this time, firefighters remained on the scene and traffic control continued to be handled by a combination of Greencastle Police, the Putnam County Sheriff's Department and the Indiana Department of Transportation.

With the new line installed, gas service was restored to the immediate area, but the line will likely need to be buried deeper before work on the alley can be completed.