Downtown Lapeer closed to traffic after gas got into sewer line
LAPEER, Mich. (FOX 2) - Downtown Lapeer is closed off Wednesday morning as authorities are working to clear a gas leak in the sewer line.
Lapeer police say gas somehow got into the sewer line and caused a "disruption" that led to several manhole covers being dislodged. Police were called downtown around 4:30 a.m. after neighbors heard the loud noises.
"The concentrations of gasoline within the sewer lines has been consistently increasing. We have teams on location at this time to mitigate that out, to try to reduce it. However at this point in time it's still increasing," police chief Dave Frisch said around 9 a.m.
They're asking anyone along Nepessing Street to voluntarily evacuate their home, and anyone to the north of Nepessing Street through Oregon are also encouraged to evacuate.
The entire downtown area is closed to traffic. Barricades are up at Saginaw and Oregon, Saginaw and Horton, Nepessing and Mason and Nepessing and Saginaw along with several other areas.
Police aren't sure right now how long the investigation will take.
It's also not known yet how the gas may have gotten into the sewer line.