Ruptured gas line causes road closure, evacuations

Staff Writer

By natalie m. vena

Ruptured gas line causes
road closure, evacuations

OLD BRIDGE — Route 516 was closed for approximately one and a half hours on Monday and several area businesses were forced to evacuate their stores after a construction company accidentally ruptured a natural gas line.

The Star of the Sea Concrete Co., Old Bridge, was working at the intersection of Route 516 and Bushnell Road when crew members accidentally ruptured a 4-inch steel natural gas pipe at 9:30 a.m., according to Lt. Jack Sweeney of the Old Bridge Police Department.

"We were removing asphalt when a backhoe struck an unmarked box that was buried near a purge line in the asphalt," said Manny Darocha, manager of Star of the Sea Concrete Co. "It was absolutely not our fault; the box was not marked."

Public Service Electric & Gas Co. is responsible for marking their utility lines before a contractor begins a project so the contractor knows to be careful when digging near a utility line, Darocha said. In this case, the box was not marked, and, therefore, the workers did not know it was a gas line.

Work at the site is related to the installation of a traffic signal and a turn lane at the intersection of Route 516 and Bushnell Road.

While the line was being repaired, police rerouted morning rush-hour traffic to a Route 9 access road and Throckmorton Lane, as well as other area roads.

Although no injuries were reported, customers and employees from nearby stores had to be evacuated by the local fire department. Police and fire officials instructed employees and patrons at the Burger King, Route 516 and Bushnell Road, the 7-Eleven store across Route 516 opposite Burger King, and the Dime Savings Bank, Bushnell Road, to evacuate immediately and move to a safe location until the matter could be brought under control, Sweeney said.

"The ruptured gas pipe was shut off in about one hour by PSE&G workers," Sweeney added. "Shortly after that, everyone was allowed back into their stores."

Nick Patel, manager of the 7-Eleven store, said he was instructed by the fire department to shut off the store lights before he evacuated the store.

"When we went outside, I could smell a bad smell, like gas, and a loud whistling sound was coming from the gas pipe," said Patel.

After the pipe was repaired and the fire department had checked each store as a safety precaution, people were allowed back in.

"Everything was back to normal in about an hour and a half," said Victor Guarino, a manager at Burger King. "We put our faith in the police and the fire department, and they took care of everything."