GAS LEAK FORCES TRAFFIC DETOUR ON WILLIAM

A break in a Union Electric Co. natural gas main in the 1400 block of William forced the evacuation of at least one home early Thursday.

Cape Girardeau police officers detoured morning rush-hour traffic around the break until UE employees finished repairs shortly after 7 a.m.

The leak was reported to the fire department at about 4:38 a.m. after a person at 1413 William reported a strong odor of gas in the house. As a precautionary measure, the family left the house and stayed with relatives.

UE Spokesman A.D. Cox said the break occurred in a 6-inch, high-pressure, cast-iron distribution line that ties the east and west ends of the city with the company's gas distribution system. Cox said residential gas customers are served by a low-pressure gas line that's near the high-pressure line.

Cox said, "Our people repaired the main by placing a sleeve over the break." It's believed the break may have been caused by earth movement as a result of the thaw last week.

This isn't the first time the William Street gas main has caused problems for Union Electric. In November 1988, a break occurred in the same 1400 block of William near its intersection with South West End Boulevard.

In February 1986, a leak developed in the gas main at William and Sheridan. Other breaks in the William Street gas main have occurred between Louis and Caruthers.

Cox said both the high-pressure main on William and a similar 4-inch high-pressure main on Good Hope will be replaced by a an 8-inch plastic main that was installed on Good Hope the past three years.

He said: "The remainder of the work on the new plastic gas main should be completed by the end of this summer. As soon as the new gas main has been tested and put into service, the cast iron mains on William and Good Hope will be abandoned in place."

Cox said the William Street gas main isn't as old as some of the other cast-iron mains that were installed in the 1940s and '50s and are still in operation.

He said the William gas line was built in 1961, at a time when cast-iron pipe was considered the safest and most efficient method to handle natural gas.

"At that time the technology did not exist that led to the development of the soft, pliable plastic pipe that we now use for gas main," said Cox.