A 16-inch gas main on Kennedy Boulevard at the Jersey City-Bayonne border was ruptured this morning and the entire area is being evacuated, Jersey City Police Lt. Edgar Martinez said.
The Jersey City police are urging people to stay out of the area until the main is fixed. Kennedy Boulevard is closed in both directions and the ramp from Route 440 is also closed, Martinez said. On the Jersey City side, Kennedy Boulevard is closed at Gates Avenue and a strong odor of gas is present as afar as five blocks away from the main break.
Martinez said that initial reports indicate that the gas main, which straddles the border, was broken at 10:05 a.m. Jersey City Fire Director Armando Roman said that J. Fletcher Creamer was repairing a water main break at the site and apparently the leak from the water main caused the integrity of the cast iron gas main to rupture.
Roman said that 10-12 homes on Pamrapo Avenue have been evacuated.
PSE&G, the Jersey City Fire Department and the Jersey City Office of Emergency Management are More...