UPDATE: Columbia Avenue was re-opened to single-lane, alternating traffic at about 6 p.m.
Emergency crews in Castlegar were called to the scene of a gas leak on Thursday afternoon.
A spokesperson for FortisBC says road crews working along Columbia Avenue struck a natural gas line near 13th Avenue, prompting the response just after 2 p.m..
Nicole Bogdanovic says Fortis gas repair crews were on the scene and dealing with the leak. She said they didn’t expect service to be interrupted to more than a handful of customers because of the leak.
The leak did disrupt traffic along Castlegar’s main road for several hours. Vehicles and pedestrians were turned away from the area for about two hours, and told to take the highway around town.
A member of the road crew at the scene told Castlegar News an asphalt grinding machine struck the gas line, which was located just below the road surface in the middle of the avenue. This could not be officially confirmed at publication time.
While the exact cause of the broken line is not known, Bogdanovic said FortisBC wanted to remind the public of the importance of calling before you dig.
