Drivers cautioned: parts of Sunset Boulevard near I-26 closed due to gas leak

Several blocks near Sunset Boulevard, or U.S. 378, in West Columbia are closed while emergency crews respond to a gas leak on Cougar Drive, officials say.

The West Columbia Fire Department has closed the 2000 to 2100 blocks of Sunset Boulevard about a mile before the I-26 interchange, Brian Carter, with the City of West Columbia said in a statement released Monday.

Drivers are asked to avoid the the area on Sunset Boulevard from Hook Avenue to Hummingbird Drive.

Traffic is being diverted off Sunset Boulevard and rerouting traffic will delay the normal release of students at Northside Middle School, Carter said. Students and staff have been asked to remain at the school until crews are able to stop the leak.

It appears that a leak was caused when workers boring under the roadway struck a gas line near Cougar Drive.

From staff reports

This story was originally published April 20, 2015 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Drivers cautioned: parts of Sunset Boulevard near I-26 closed due to gas leak."