A ruptured natural gas pipeline on Main Street in Gorham shut down through traffic and evacuated downtown businesses for about 45 minutes Monday morning.
Gorham Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre said an excavator broke a gas pipeline at a construction site adjacent to Hannafords. Because of the incident, police and firefighters closed down Hannafords and evacuated all the businesses on the easterly side of Elm Street, all the way to and including Carter’s Auto Service at the intersection of Elm Street with Railroad Avenue.
As a precaution against sparking an explosion, police and firefighters also halted traffic from entering or leaving the parking lot at the Village Mall on the opposite side of Main Street. No one was allowed to start cars in the parking lots, Lefebvre said.
Gorham dispatch received a call reporting the incident at 9:48 a.m. on Monday. Lefebvre said the evacuation ended, businesses reopened and traffic flow resumed after utility workers shutoff the gas pipeline.
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