A quick and careful response to an excavating mishap avoided a potentially disastrous situation Thursday morning when a city worker accidentally severed a two-inch natural gas line at the corner of Walker and Ridgeview Road.
The break occurred about 8:30 a.m. and by 9:27, crews from four agencies teamed to shut three points on gas lines that completed a loop of supply lines. About 25 workers from the Rolla Fire Department, the Street Department, Rolla Municipal Utilities and AmerenUE teamed to make sure the gas was shuttered before repairs could be made. Shortly after the break, gas could be smelled as far away as Rolla’s downtown area as winds pushed the gas cross Rolla.
There were no evacuations of people from homes in the area.
“A two-inch line was broken, and now we’re in the process of shutting off the lines that supply it,” said Rolla Fire Capt. Jeff Breem. “They have to shut off the gas before any repairs can be made.”
The break necessitated the cessation of gas flow at three other points, two closures of the six-inch gas main that supplied the line severed and the two-inch line beyond the break.
The break occurred at the northwest corner of Walker Street and Ridgeview Road where city crews are relocating a parking lot for Ridgeview Christian Church. Part of a deal between the church and the city allows for the construction of the new lot at the intersection to replace the one that will be lost because of the construction of the Missouri Route 72 extension at Ridgeview Road.
“We lost service to just one customer for about an hour,” said AmerenUE Operations Supervisor for Repairs Dennis Bennett. “Crews were great about getting it fixed in a timely manner.”
Bennett said the line served all the homes west of Walker Street in that neighborhood, about 50 homes. Because the lines are looped, only the one customer in the immediate area lost service, he said.
Rolla Police and other workers secured a four-block area from traffic and pedestrians as staffers worked to cut the supply so repairs could be made.
After each of the four points was excavated, workers used three clamps to stem the flow of gas to the flexible lines feeding the broken area.
“There are no valves on these lines,” explained Ron Smith, training and education officer of the Rolla Fire Department. “The valves are something else they’d have to maintain.”
