Gas leak patched in downtown Cedar Rapids

UPDATE: Firefighters checked for gas levels Friday morning in downtown Cedar Rapids after a large gas line was punctured.

Crews responded just before 10 a.m. to the corner of Fifth Avenue and Second Street SE, near the flood-damaged public library. Battalion Chief Brian Gibson said workers using a skidloader there clipped a 4-inch gas main, causing a strong odor of natural gas in the area.

No one was evacuated, but about a half-dozen workers in an office building near the leak voluntarily went home, Gibson said. Firefighters monitored gas levels in the area, including inside the Geneva Tower apartment building.

“Obviously with that heavy of a residential load, we don't want that to get away from us,” Gibson said.

Fifth Avenue SE was closed west of Third Street SE, while MidAmerican Energy workers made the repairs. The leak was patched around 12:30 p.m.