Update at 3 p.m.: According to a Fredericksburg traffic alert, “the road closures around Prince Edward Street, Amelia Street, Lewis Street and Charles Street are all clear and all streets are open.”
Six white Columbia Gas box trucks raced up Fall Hill Avenue around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, bound for a gas leak on Prince Edward Street, between Lewis and Amelia Streets in downtown Fredericksburg.
While that block was already cordoned off by 1:30 p.m. as crews worked, an overwhelming smell of gas persisted for several blocks in all directions. A Free Press reporter observed a rectangular segment of pavement cut out from the roadway, and a worker in neon safety gear shouted, “It’s gas!,” while gesturing to turn around.
A Fredericksburg traffic alert issued at 1:52 p.m. advised of “multiple police and fire units blocking traffic… due to repairs being made to a gas line.” The alert asked residents to avoid the area until receiving an update that the area is clear.
A message left with the Battalion Chief at Fredericksburg Fire Department Station 1 was not immediately returned on Thursday afternoon.
(This is a developing story).
