MIAMI (WSVN) - The City of Miami shut down the Northwest 22nd Avenue bridge following a gas leak in Miami.
Crews were on the scene of Northwest 22nd Avenue and Northwest 14th Street, on Friday.
7News cameras captured emergency and gas company workers pulling a late Friday night duty as they worked to repair the leak.
According to People’s Gas Company officials, a 10-inch natural gas line was damaged by a separate construction company when the crew’s equipment busted the steel distribution pipe.
This led to the closure of the Northwest 22nd Avenue bridge between Northwest 14 and 18 Streets.
“We have decided to have the bridge stay open and shut down the 22nd Avenue bridge and then evacuate that tower,” said Miami Fire Rescue’s Ignatius Carroll.
The pipeline is buried 20 feet deep.
“It was too deep to reach with hand tools and you had to bring in heavy equipment,” said Carroll.
Carroll showed 7News around where the leak occurred. Rescue and hazmat personnel were stationed in the area as the tricky repair work was underway.
The pipe delivers natural gas to about 3,000 customers in downtown Miami, Coconut Grove, and Little Havana.
The gas is still flowing to these areas and no customer have lost service.
“You smell it as it’s being pushed by the wind but it starts to dissipate so there’s no concern as far as it affecting the residents here. But we’ll continue to monitor it until we get it fixed,” said Carroll.
According to Miami Police, the bridge will be closed until further notice. Drivers are urged to avoid the area and take Northwest 27th Avenue or Northwest 17th Avenue as an alternative.
Officials said it could take hours, or even days, to fix the busted pipe.
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