Gas leak shuts down businesses, Oakton Street in Des Plaines

A construction crew struck a gas line Tuesday afternoon in Des Plaines, forcing local businesses to evacuate and closing down Oakton Street for three hours, authorities said.

The crew was working about 1 p.m. on a sidewalk on the 1000 block of West Oakton Street when the gas line was hit, according to Capt. Scott Pierson of the Des Plaines Fire Department.

The odor of gas filled several local businesses in the area on Des Plaines' western city limits, leading them to close their doors for much of the afternoon until the line could be repaired, Pierson said.

Oakton was reopened to traffic before 4 p.m.

In an unrelated incident, authorities responded to a rollover vehicle accident about the same time as the gas leak at the nearby intersection of Oakton Street and Elmhurst Road. Two people were taken to the hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries, Pierson said.