Gas line rupture at Ann Arbor City Hall construction site shuts down Fifth Avenue

The strong smell associated with natural gas wafted through downtown Ann Arbor for a time this afternoon after a gas line ruptured at the construction site for the new police-court building, forcing North Fifth Avenue to close.

The police-court building construction site.

North Fifth Avenue and its sidewalk were closed for a time between Ann and Huron streets while the Ann Arbor Fire Department attempted to keep people away from the leak and run tests for the flammability of gas in the air, said Ann Arbor Fire Capt. Steve Lowe.

According to the fire department, crews who are constructing the sidewalk area and putting in lampposts adjacent the new city hall building hit a line while digging.

No surrounding buildings, including city hall, were evacuated. But large construction vehicles on the site were halted.

It's believed a 1- or 2-inch line was hit by construction crews, Lowe said. A ground crew for MichCon, part of DTE Energy, was headed out to the site to shut off the gas and repair the leak.

Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.