Repairs continue after gas main break cuts service to more than 300 in Salem
Excavator doing drainage work hits gas main, officials say
Excavator doing drainage work hits gas main, officials say
Excavator doing drainage work hits gas main, officials say
A gas main break Monday on Route 28 cut service to hundreds of customers in Salem, officials said.
Emergency crews were called about 9 a.m. by a contractor who reported that a 6-inch main gas line near Drive Fitness near the intersection with Route 97, also known as Main Street, was hit by an excavator.
A police officer who was working a detail shift at the site called it in, fire officials said. Officials said the gas was dissipating, and there was no danger of it concentrating.
Gas was shut off to a major artery, affecting the nearby high school and senior center, along with several businesses along a section of North Broadway. Officials said gas service north of the Copper Door, including parts of Main Street, would be shut off for hours.
Utility officials completed repairs about 6 p.m. and now, crews from Unitil will need to service every meter affected by the leak and relight pilot lights. Officials said they will focus on critical facilities, such as three assisted living centers.
Assisted living center Salemhaven was ready for the unexpected.
“Last month we had a disaster drill,” said Salemhaven administrator Raymond Millard. “The scenario was this – loss of heat due to loss of natural gas.”
Crews from Unitil left notifications for customers that were not home and had crews ready in the area to return and service the meters.
Salem officials said it would likely be another 12 hours before everything was back to normal.
Fire officials said 335 gas customers were affected by the leak. Salem officials said the excavator was doing drainage work.
"From the information we have currently from what's out in the field, we believe this was an error, perhaps, in the location markout and no fault of the contractor at this time," said Roy Sorenson, Salem municipal services director.
Route 28 was closed in both directions in the area of the leak, but by noon, one lane was open in each direction.
Affected customers can find more information about the restoration process at https://unitil.com/outage-center/gas-event-salem-nh.