Two separate gas leaks shut down busy DeKalb County roads for hours Thursday, creating traffic headaches and blocking access to many local restaurants and shops.
The first leak began before midday in Avondale Estates near the intersection of North Avondale Road and Pine Street, DeKalb fire officials confirmed. Authorities initially said there was no danger to residents or businesses nearby, then said several businesses had been evacuated around 2:15 p.m.
Though fire officials did not provide specifics about which businesses were impacted, the area around the site of the leak is the commercial center of Avondale Estates. The rupture had already caused some restaurants to announce they would temporarily close.
My Parents Basement, a beer-focused restaurant and comic book shop, posted on Instagram that its kitchen temporarily closed “due to an unfortunate gas leak.”
The leak was capped and the road reopened around 5 p.m., the City of Avondale Estates announced. My Parents Basement was able to reopen soon after.
The second leak began causing disruptions around 3:15 p.m. when Brookhaven police announced that a gas line rupture had shut down all traffic on Dresden Drive between Apple Valley and Caldwell roads.
Located about 7 miles north of the first leak, the closure cut off another busy road that links the bustling commercial area of Brookhaven Village to Peachtree Road. Although few businesses are located on the stretch of Dresden Drive that was blocked, the closure created worse-than-usual traffic headaches in the area and restricted access to the restaurants and shops nearby.
The gas leak was stopped and the road reopened around 7 p.m., Brookhaven police said.
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