Next phase of repairs underway—Do Not Enter Secured Worksite
A 10-inch natural gas pipeline was damaged by a third-party construction crew doing work 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 City of Miami Police Department. Traffic continues to be rerouted in the area. The Miami River waterway remains open to boat traffic.
Peoples Gas’ priority is safety, and the company has been coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard, Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami Police, Fire, Public Works and Emergency Operations Departments to ensure there are no public safety or environmental concerns.
The area has been secured by local law enforcement and Peoples Gas team members are monitoring the site 24/7 for any changes to current conditions.
Media should not attempt to enter the secured worksite. Drones should not be flown in the area.
What’s New
- The next phase of repairs is underway. A team is using boring equipment to make a path under the river for a new section of pipe which will be used to bypass the damaged section. Boring activity will likely take several days and there is no plan to close the waterway during this time.
Additional Incident Details:
- As a result of the impact by third-party construction equipment, a 10-inch steel distribution pipeline was damaged. The pipeline is buried 20-feet deep.
- The utility continues to actively monitor atmospheric gas levels in the area and no issues have been detected.
- To further reduce risk, natural gas pressure on the pipeline has been reduced. Peoples Gas crews are monitoring system pressures of the pipeline around the clock to continue serving approximately 3,000 customers in the downtown, Coconut Grove and Little Havana areas of Miami. No customers have lost service or are impacted by the damage to the system or by the reduced gas pressures at this time.
- 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 the new pipe. Then, they will take the damaged section of pipe out of service.
- Peoples Gas expects repairs to take the remainder of the week to complete.
Media Contact:
Michelle Bozman
(813) 376-5743
