By WPRO News
Hundreds of people were evacuated from stores in Seekonk and traffic halted for a brief time on I-195 in Seekonk after construction crews hit a six inch gas line at a construction site off Fall River Avenue.
Utility crews from Eversource scrambled to cap the leak and make repairs, while firefighters went to big-box stores and restaurants along nearby Route 6 to measure for gas and enforce brief evacuations, said Seekonk Fire Chief Shaun Whalen.
He said fire crews arrived on scene at approximately 8:56 A.M., and the gas company crews had gas service terminated by 9:40 A.M. to begin to effect repairs. The broken line was at the entrance to the former motel and Dublin Rose Sports Pub, where a future Whole Foods Market is under construction.
“We had evacuated everybody in the general vicinity, and as far down as Walmart, so we evacuated approximately 250 to 400 people, and we’re currently allowing those buildings to start to re-occupy after we have companies going there to meter and make sure there’s no gas readings inside the structures,” said Whalen shortly after the leak was capped.
“It’s estimated it was a six-inch line that was struck and torn right off the main. So we didn’t know how much gas we had impacting the highway. So we preliminarily shut the highway down as a precaution,” he said, estimating the shutdown of the interstate lasted only minutes.
Firefighters were going into nearby stores to check for gas levels, while workers at a Dunkin’ shop on Route 6 about a half mile away from the construction site said they were not evacuated, but could smell gas in the area.
