SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — A construction vehicle ruptured an underground natural gas pipe a block from the I-81 viaduct near Syracuse University, a deputy fire chief confirms to NewsChannel on the scene.
NewsChannel 9’s crew on the scene can smell the natural gas and hear it spewing from the pipe on Van Buren Street. Van Buren Street is lined with construction cones and barrels, a signal of all the work happening around the I-81 viaduct. A few blocks from the leak is where crews are building a major roundabout that becomes part of Business Loop 81.
The nearby VA Medical Center is fully operational, the hospital’s spokesperson tells NewsChannel 9. An odor of natural gas can be detected in the hospital but monitoring by the Syracuse Fire Department and National Grid have deemed the medical facility safe…