Updated: Gas Leak Briefly Shuts Down Park Ave

A city highway department vehicle ruptured a gas line on Park Avenue this morning, snarling traffic for a brief time after police blocked off the road.

The leak was caused by a Cranston Highway Department crew that was fixing a catch basin and ruptured the line, said Joe Corso of the department. The line apparently wasn't properly marked.

"There was a gas line that wasn't marked on the right spot," Corso said. But, "there was never a danger."

He said there was no cause for worry, but "Whenever there's a gas leak you better be safe."

Corso said National Grid and the Cranston Fire Department were contacted and responded "instantly" to the scene.

Park Avenue was blocked by police cruisers until the line was shut down and the scene was deemed safe. The road remained closed for about an hour.

National Grid spokeswoman Amy Zorich said crews are currently on scene making repairs, which will be completed sometime today.

"We turned off service [to the affected line] but it did not impact any customers," Zorich said.

The leak occured at 1334 Park Ave., near the former Tim Hortons, according to Zorich. It's near Budlong Road and Maple and Park Avenues.

The call came in about 10 minutes before 10 a.m. Had it occured an hour earlier, this morning's commute could have been troublesome for many more people.

Joe Murgo, who helps his friend Larry Cull, owner of Cullco on Park Ave., was in the garage when the fire department showed up. He heard sirens and walked outside to see what was going on.

"I came up and everything was blocked off," he said. Firefighters warned him to stay outside on the high part of the property near Park Avenue, in case the leaking gas collected in the garage.

Park Ave. was blocked from Budlong Ave. to Maple Street for about an hour.

The road closure caused an increase in traffic on Pontiac and Reservoir Avenues, according to reader reports.

Robert Borkowski contributed to this story.