US-31/M-72 reopened after gas leak
Sep. 2—TRAVERSE CITY — A major east-west thoroughfare near Traverse City reopened Friday morning after DTE Energy finished repairing a gas leak that caused the asphalt to bulge.
Crews reopened US-31/M-72 North between Three Mile and Four Mile roads in East Bay Township at 7:45 a.m., more than 15 hours after emergency responders barricaded the stretch of highway, according to the Grand Traverse County Emergency Management Department.
Passers-by first called in the gas leak at 3:58 p.m. Thursday and four minutes later, someone called DTE Energy, said Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Sgt. Roy Raska. Shortly after that, the Michigan Department of Transportation was notified.
The crews with DTE Energy that responded after 4 p.m. estimated it would take several hours to repair the gas line and worked through the night to fix it. Traffic was re-routed to Hammond Road at that juncture of the highway.
The leak occurred just west of the Bob Evans restaurant. Raska said the sheriff's office suspects the gas leak had something to do with nearby construction. A DTE Energy official said they believe a construction crew working between the Bob Evans Restaurant and the Days Inn & Suites likely punctured the line.
No one was evacuated as a result. The highway needed no repairs after the pavement sank back into place once the pipeline rupture was fixed, Raska said.
Along with sheriff's deputies, who handled traffic during the incident, Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department, the Grand Traverse County Road Commission and MDOT responded, Raska said.
Record-Eagle reporter Jordan Travis contributed to this article.
