Early morning commuter traffic builds up on the Angus L. Macdonald bridge, which spans Halifax harbour.PAUL DARROW/The Globe and Mail
Halifax Regional Police say some residents in the city's south end were forced from their homes today following a major gas leak.
Const. Pierre Bourdages says a construction crew working on South Park Street punctured a main gas line around 9:30 a.m.
Bourdages says several dozen homes were evacuated and surrounding roads were blocked off to traffic.
On its Twitter feed shortly after 11 a.m., Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency said the gas has been turned off and it was planning to slowly restore power to the area.
The fire department said it expected to allow people to return to their homes over a two- to three-hour period after the gas had been turned off.
There were no reported injuries.
A hospital in the area, the IWK Health Centre, said it had put surgeries on hold as a result of the gas leak and was operating on generator power.
Its emergency room was operating as normal.