UPDATE: City Staff say phone lines are down at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre and are asking anyone concerned about the gas leak to call 613-920-3732 until further notice.
Residents are still being evacuated out of downtown Belleville and works crews are trying to patch a severed gas line, after construction workers severed it late this afternoon.
A complete evacuation of Belleville’s downtown core was ordered just after 5:00 p.m., when workers hit the line near Front and Campbell Streets.
Front, Pinnacle, Campbell and Patterson Streets are completely closed to cars and pedestrians, as are roads around the Market Square.
Also, Victoria is closed from Church to Front, Church is closed up to Station Street and the Riverfront Trail is off limits to pedestrians, between Dundas and the Church/Station area.
Evacuated residents are being taken to the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre by city buses and health unit staff are also on the scene there to deal with any concerns.
At this point there’s no word on when the area will be safe to return, but the City of Belleville has set up an information line, to be updated every 15 minutes,at 613-966-4632.
More details to come as they are available.
