A natural gas main break closed traffic along U.S. 63 briefly when a road construction crew accidentally hit a pipe while digging.
Crews were working on constructing a new J-turn near Liberty Lane, just south of Ashland, when the accident happened around 2:30 p.m. No one was injured.
According to the Sgt. Paul Reinsch with the Missouri Highway Patrol, the highway was closed to traffic for about seven minutes between 3:16 p.m. and 3:23 p.m.
"We've stopped the leak and we're repairing it now," Michael Holman, director of Missouri Gas Operations for AmerenUE, said late Wednesday afternoon.
Holman noted that about 20 houses will be without gas while workers make the repairs. He said workers will go from house to house to relight appliances and they will leave hangtags on the buildings where no one is home.
"You can call us 24 hours, around the clock, to relight the appliances," Holman said.
He asked that homeowners not try to do so themselves; instead, they should allow emergency workers to perform the appropriate safety checks.
The danger with a natural gas leak is that fumes can accumulate to the point where they might ignite, Holman said. He noted that vehicles were removed from the area to control the possibility of an ignition.
"All leaks are serious," he noted.