Sandy Plains Road re-opened early Wednesday, after a contractor ruptured a high-pressure natural gas transmission line, forcing the evacuation of several buildings, businesses and a daycare center.

Work crews repaired the line overnight, said Matthew Daily a Marietta city spokesman. Officials shut down traffic after the leak Tuesday on a portion of Sandy Plains Road, between the Canton Highway Connector and Addison Road.

Frank Niemeir / AJC (ENLARGE)

Children from Primary Prep Academy are evacuated after the nearby gas leak.

• Photos Recent headlines: Suspected serial bank robber captured  Daughter: Mulligan's owner not a 'dumb redneck'  Suspect indicted in slaying of Auburn student     • Cobb County news

A company doing work in the area bored into a 6-inch, high-pressure transmission line about 10:05 a.m., said Jack Holt, a spokesman for Atlanta Gas Light, the area's natural gas distributor.

No injuries were reported and repair crews had shut off the gas be the middle of the afternoon Tuesday.

Holt said the transmission line served most of the homes and businesses in the area. It comes off a 24-inch high-pressure line that rings Atlanta.

The line rupture emptied buildings as firefighters from Cobb County and Marietta worked to clear the area and close off the streets. A daycare center, an office park, a small shopping center, a Wendy's and a Chevron gas station evacuated, Marietta officials said.

About 500 workers at the WellStar administrative headquarters were sent home for the day, hospital chain spokeswoman Samantha McInturff said.

The 4-year-olds in Stephanie Alkhalayleh's class at the Primary Prep Academy were finishing making jellyfish out of coffee filters and streamers. They were heading out to play when playtime was canceled.

"They were, like, why?" Alkhalayleh said.

About 150 children were evacuated by bus to Cornerstone Baptist Church.

An hour later, the pews of the small church's sanctuary were filled with children who munched on white bread and yellow cheese sandwiches. They sipped on milk in little plastic cups until their parents arrived. Some explored prayer books, looking for pictures. One little boy escaped the confines of his pew to run a few feet before a teacher grabbed him.

A couple of the children play wrestled until Kelli Milz stopped them with a teacherly: "Break it up."

Milz, one of three co-owners of Primary Prep, said fire officials notified the school about the leak about 10:30 a.m. Evacuation started about an hour later.

"They told us to stay put," Milz said.

The school was also caring for about 20 babies, who were taken to church's basement after the evacuation.

The children "were actually very good," Milz said.

The younger ones were told they were going on a field trip.

The older ones wanted to know what a gas leak was, so while they waited, teachers explained, said Tasha Leatherwood, one of the educators.

They were a little excited, a little nervous and a little scared, she said.

They wanted to know about brothers and sisters, whether their parents knew where they were going and when they were being picked.

School staff put up a sign and left a voice mail message for parents. They grabbed children, snacks and records to start calling parents.

Some of the parents heard the news on the radio, others from spouses or other parents.

They arrived a bit nervous, but happy to see their little ones.

"There was a little bit of panic, but they said they were evacuated," said Jennifer Schwab, who heard the news on the radio.

She arrived to find up her daughter Veronica, who is 4 1/2, smiling and eating a slice of cheese.

"So I felt like they were pretty safe," said Schwab.

Staff writers Bill Hendrick and Tom Opdyke contributed to this article.