PSE&G: Worker Dropped Slab on Gas Line

The Prospect Street culvert project which began last month turned dangerous this afternoon when a contractor dropped a concrete slab on a gas main, rupturing it, according to officials at PSE&G which operates the lines. and was brought under control around 3:20p.m. There is no immediate threat from the gas leak as crews work to repair the line throughout the rest of the day.

Fire Chief Joseph Houck said that firefighters will check on homes in the area to ensure there is no further gas leakage. Some residents are expected to be without gas until PSE&G crews are finished with repairs. No time was given as to the completion of the repairs, but the company did say they would happen sometime today.

Police road blocks have been set up along Prospect Street from Linden Place to Springfield Avenue and the surrounding area. Earlier in the afternoon school officials warned children going home of the danger and police offered escorts to some children who lived closest to the affected area according to neighbors.

One nearby resident, Corinne Kelly said she didn't smell gas in the area, but noticed fire trucks assembling along Prospect Street around 11a.m. Just a few hours later, while driving along Route 24, she says she smelled gas. "When I smelled it on Route 24, it made me realize how dangerous it was."

Gathered on a street corner, overlooking firefighters and repair crews work the scene, Kelly and her neighbors Tracy and Cecily Stabler, said they weren't worried about any danger from the situation. Alerted earlier in the day by the Nixel.com alert system and the city's Code Red phone alerts, they knew the situation was being handled. 

"I felt pretty calm—I got the Nixel alert. I knew that if it was a serious emergency I would leave, " said Tracy Stabler who was with her daughter Cecily, a Summit middle school student. 

"There were no precautionary measures that needed to be taken in regards to residents in that area," said a spokesperson from PSE&G. Jogi Construction of Edison was the contractor hired for the culver repair which began around Feb. 27th. Representatives from Union County, who were on the scene of the accident, did not provide any further details on the mishap.