Wind helps dissipate Cedar Rapids gas leak

UPDATE: Wind gusts helped helped dissipate natural gas near a busy intersection in Cedar Rapids before it became much of a problem Friday morning.

Firefighters responded to First Avenue East and Collins Road around 8:10 a.m. after a contractor doing construction work severed a 4-inch gas line, officials said. MidAmerican Energy crews were on the scene, as well.

No lanes of traffic were shut down and no one was evacuated while crews capped the gas line, due in part to the reported 22 mph wind speed when crews arrived.

“Otherwise, it is a big enough line that (the gas) could just hang there,” said Greg Smith, battalion chief with the Fire Department. “The wind helps it dissipate before it becomes a problem.”

Reconstruction of the intersection has closed lanes and delayed traffic at the intersection this month.