Gas main accident sparks emergency, traffic chaos
nicholas.mcelroy@news.com.au A CONSTRUCTION worker had an unfortunate accident yesterday, bursting a gas main while working on the $420 million light rail stage two in Arundel and causing a peakhour road closure.
An excavator hit the gas main at 3.15pm near the intersection of Napper Rd and Smith St sending poisonous and flammable gas into the air which could be smelt throughout the suburb.
A 200m exclusion zone was set-up by police while fire and emergency services worked to isolate and repair the 90mm pipeline.
Smith St remained open for the peak-hour period but a large section of Napper Rd was closed for more than two hours causing traffic headaches for motorists.
Fire and Rescue North Gold Coast Acting Inspector Mick Torrens said there was no threat to nearby residents and that authorities had taken every precaution.
Insp Torrens said favourable winds helped crews by blowing the gas away from residential areas.
“It was caused by a digger which hit a 90mm gas main,” he said. A Goldlinq spokesman last night said repairing the gas main was expected to take a few hours. He added that the incident would not cause major delays in construction of the light rail.
“Emergency repair works are being undertaken as a priority,” he said in a statement.