A 10-inch natural gas pipeline was damaged by third-party construction equipment doing work near the bank of the Miami River unrelated to Peoples Gas on April 5. Due to the location of the pipeline at the NW 22nd Avenue Bridge, the draw bridge is up and will remain closed to vehicle traffic until further notice by Miami Police. Traffic is being rerouted in the area. Boat traffic continues to pass underneath the bridge at this time.
Peoples Gas’ priority is safety. There are no public safety or environmental concerns at this time. Peoples Gas has been coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard, Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami Fire Department.
The area has been secured by local law enforcement. Peoples Gas team members are on site monitoring the area and repairs could take up to a week to complete.
Media should not attempt to enter the secured worksite. Drones should not be flown in the area.
Additional incident details:
- As a result of the impact by third-party construction equipment, a 10-inch steel distribution pipeline was damaged. The pipeline, buried 20-feet deep, delivers natural gas to approximately 3,000 customers located in the downtown, Coconut Grove and Little Havana areas of Miami. Natural gas is flowing through the pipeline and no customers have lost service at this time.
- Peoples Gas has not observed any pipeline pressure drops related to this incident. The utility continues to actively monitor system pressures and atmospheric gas levels in the area.
- The repair plans include installing new pipe to bypass the damage. Once the permanent bypass is in place, technicians will pressure test and flow natural gas through it. Then, they will remove the damaged section of pipe.
- Peoples Gas expects repairs to take up to a week to complete.
Media Contact:
Michelle Bozman
(813) 376-5743
