8-Inch Gas Main Break Stops Hanley Road Traffic

Hanley Road between Manchester Road and is closed to all traffic because a contractor at the Mini Cooper construction site off Hanley Road broke an 8-inch natural gas main with a back hoe around 11:15 a.m.

Crews are in the process of capping the break. The high-pressure escaping gas makes a hiss too loud to talk over in the area.

and Webster Groves fire departments are on the scene with dressed out firefighters standing by with charged hoses in case a fire is sparked.

Maplewood fire chief Terry Merrell said a check of nearby neighborhoods shows that gas levels aren't dangerously high, though at the scene there is the smell of natural gas.

Merrell had railroad traffic halted on the bridge next to the site to reduce the chance of a spark starting a fire.

Businesses along Hanley Road are without gas service. is also closed because of the 8-inch fire hose that runs in front of the restaurant.

Update:

The loud sound of gas excaping from the broken main stopped at 3:30 p.m. the same day.