Road Reopens After Gas Leak In Hamden: UPDATE

HAMDEN, CT — Skiff Street in Hamden has reopened after crews repaired a gas leak that evacuated the immediate area on Monday morning. A contractor working on the Skiff Street bridge construction site struck a 4-inch gas main with a piece of equipment around 8:45 a.m., according to Assistant Fire Chief Charles Lubowicki.

Lubowicki said the area was immediately evacuated and emergency personnel was called. Hamden Police set up a perimeter and “began evacuating people form the area businesses while the Hamden Fire Department shut off utilities to affected buildings and assisted with evacuation,” according to Lubowicki.

“The Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG) Company arrived on scene and began mitigating the issue,” Lubowicki wrote in a press release. “The largest affected area was the Aces Mill Academy which was relocated to the Hamden Hall Athletic Complex with no incident. The SCG Company was able to stop the leak with no further outages to Skiff Street businesses in about an hour. The Hamden Fire Department also responded to multiple odors of as around town that were directly related to the Skiff Street incident.

“The Hamden Fire Department would like to thank ACES, Hamden Hall Country Day School, Southern CT Gas and the Hamden police for their cooperation in this incident.”

(Original post): HAMDEN, CT — Police are asking motorists and pedestrians to avoid Skiff Street in Hamden for the next several hours. Skiff Street is closed between Whitney Avenue and Dixwell Avenue due to a damaged gas line, according to police.

The gas line was struck by a construction company around 8:30 a.m. on Monday.

In an update around 10 a.m., Mayor Curt Balzano Leng said the gas leak has been contained.

"Work will continue and Skiff Street will not have gas service until repairs completed," Leng wrote in a post on Twitter.

This story will be updated when more information is available.