Street reopens after gas leak is repaired

A gas line cut by construction workers led to a four-hour traffic detour along four blocks on West Broward Boulevard on Thursday, a city official said.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue and hazmat crews were working in a rain storm and then in hot sun to repair the line that was damaged at 1300 W. Broward Blvd., in front of the city’s police headquarters, Battalion Chief Gregory May said.

A subcontractor for the Florida Department of Transportation was working on that stretch of the boulevard as part of a bridge replacement project that includes resurfacing, bike lanes, upgraded signals and other improvements being made in the road from U.S. 1 to Northwest 18th Avenue.

The crew was using a boring machine to dig under the road between 11th and 12th Avenues to install tubing that will hold traffic signal wires when they accidentally hit the gas line at 11 a.m., FDOT spokesman Chuck McGinness said in an email.

Utility workers from the TECO gas company were on site at the time and assisting in making the repairs, McGinness said.

The police station did not have to evacuate, May said.

At 2 p.m., traffic along the boulevard was still not allowed to travel between Northwest 15th Avenue and Northwest 11th Avenue. The fire department suggested motorists use Sunrise Boulevard or Davie Boulevard instead.

By 3:15 p.m., crews had secured the leak and traffic on the busy boulevard was allowed to flow again, May said.

JOE CAVARETTA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Broward Boulevard was closed for several hours on Thursday while Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue and hazmat crews worked on a gas leak.