Ruptured Gas Line Prompts Closure in McKinney

A ruptured gas line closed the intersection of Eldorado Parkway and Stonebridge Drive in McKinney for several hours Monday.

Shortly before 10 a.m., construction crews working in the area accidentally cut the 8-inch natural gas line, officials said.

"It's always a dangerous situation when you have a gas leak and that size of line, especially in a populated area," said McKinney Fire Spokeswoman Stacie Durham. "When you have a piece of equipment running over the top of it, it creates the heat from the equipment and could cause a spark."

There were initial concerns over the levels of natural gas in the air and evacuations were considered, but never actually called for. "There was a slight elevation of the gas levels in that area and we had to consider evacuating that property," said Durham.

The intersection was closed for several hours while crews turned off the gas. At about 1 p.m., the scene was cleared and the roadway was reopened to traffic.

Only 11 customers were affected by the outage, Atmos said.

If you smell natural gas, officials recommend that people do not attempt to locate the gas leak, that they do not smoke or use lighters or matches, that they do not turn on or off electrical appliances, that power tools and mobile phones are not used. People are advised only to leave the immediate area and to then call 911.