Authorities are evacuating residents in Eatonton due to a gas main line break on Imperial Mill Road. Eatonton Fire Chief Eugene Hubert said a contractor who was doing work hit the line and caused the leak.
Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell said a four-inch gas line was hit near the Kingdom Hall Jehovah’s Witnesses on the 100 block of Imperial Mill Road.
The road is currently closed between North Jefferson Avenue and the US 441 bypass.
Hubert and Cardwell said gas company employees are at the scene making repairs.
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UPDATE AT 5:15 P.M. SATURDAY
Eatonton Fire Chief Eugene Hubert said at 5:10 p.m. that the gas leak is still in progress. Other valves along the line have been turned off, so the danger is not as great as it was when the break first happened at 3 p.m. He said people should still avoid the area.
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UPDATE AT 5:45 P.M. SATURDAY
The gas leak has been stopped, according to Cardwell. He said the repair is temporary and it will take the workers a couple of days to completely repair it. The work has stopped for the evening but Imperial Mill Road will remain closed between North Jefferson and the Kingdom Hall Church.
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MONDAY UPDATE:
On Monday, Eatonton City Administrator Gary Sanders said a contractor will be on Imperial Mill Road Tuesday to make the permanent repair to the gas line, and the patchwork repair on the road is scheduled for Wednesday. The road should be opened Thursday, March 16, if all goes as planned, he said.