Part of West Exchange Street closed until weekend for gas line repairs in downtown Akron

A portion of a major Akron street will be closed through Saturday as crews make emergency repairs to a gas line.

Meanwhile, Dominion Energy said as of Tuesday afternoon it had restored gas service to about half of its downtown Akron customers affected by a broken gas line and water main. Dominion said gas line repairs are hindered by frigid weather.

Adam Staller of the city's engineering division said water is trapped in a gas main along West Exchange Street that services an Akron Children's Hospital building.

Power restored: 'Thanks, Mother Nature': Downtown Akron power restored. Gas line repairs continue

Crews from Dominion Energy and H.M. Miller Construction Co. began making repairs Tuesday morning.

This is all fallout from a major water main break that hit downtown Akron over the weekend.

Westbound traffic will be maintained between West Bowery and Water streets, but the eastbound direction will be closed. The city warns there could be traffic delays for westbound motorists as just one lane will be open.

The repairs are expected to be completed by Saturday.

Dominion Energy on Tuesday said it continues to make progress to bring customers back in service.

"As of right now, half of our customers have been brought back into service, and we expect to have more in service by the evening," a spokeswoman said.

Dominion said "an army of service crews" that has been in downtown Akron since 9 a.m. Saturday will stay on site until the last customer is brought back into service.

"This is one of our most challenging restorations to date due to the single-digit overnight temperatures and the significant amount of snow on the ground," the spokeswoman said. The restoration process is being slowed by frozen lines and meters that require additional attention, she said.

"We’ve reached out to every impacted customer and offered them hotel accommodations from the onset," the spokeswoman said. "Currently 45 customers remain at local hotels. We’ll continue to provide this resource until their service is restored."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Portion of West Exchange Street in Akron closed for emergency repairs