CRANBERRY TWP — A portion of Executive Drive was closed for about two-and-a-half hours Monday after a construction crew punctured a gas line.

A crew with Fiber and Cable Specialists of New Brighton, Beaver County, was doing horizontal boring to install fiber optic cables around 4 p.m. when workers accidentally hit a gas line, an employee said.

The leak was in a grassy area in front of an office building and across the street from the Hampton Inn hotel.

The township fire department closed the road between Cranberry Square Drive and Freedom Road and evacuated all the people from the office building, Hampton Inn and KinderCare, a nearby preschool, said Jeff Schueler, township director of public safety.

Columbia Gas Company was called to the scene and deemed the hotel and preschool safe to re-enter, but not the office building.

Since they could not find an above-ground shut-off valve to stop the gas from leaking, Columbia had to dig up the line and crimp it, Schueler said.

There was a breeze that helped the gas dissipate, but any spark or source of flame could cause trouble during a gas leak, which is why emergency responders quickly cleared the area, he said.

The state Public Utility Commission will investigate the incident, he said.

The line was repaired and the road was reopened around 6:45 p.m.