Natural gas leak in Matthews

A natural gas leak in Matthews has N.C. 51 northbound at Northeast Parkway down to one lane Friday afternoon.

A 2-inch gas line in the area was ruptured, said Jason Gurian, assistant chief of operations for the Matthews Fire and Emergency Medical Services. He said the call came in at about 12:25 p.m.

A grading company accidentally dug into the line, said Piedmont Natural Gas spokeswoman Loree Elswick. The natural gas service was turned off at 12:49 p.m.

Drivers will not to be able to turn onto the parkway from either direction, police said.

Piedmont expects its work to be finished by 2 or 2:15 p.m., Elswick said.

This story was originally published May 1, 2015 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Natural gas leak in Matthews."