MIAMI – The Venetian Causeway was closed for a few hours Monday afternoon because of a gas leak.
Local 10 News reporter Jenise Fernandez said residents of the Venetian Islands were being allowed to pass, but no other vehicles were being allowed across the bridge that connects Miami to Miami Beach.
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Miami Beach police said the gas leak was on the Miami side of Biscayne Bay.
By 9:45 p.m. one lane in each direction was reopened and the leak had been temporarily capped.
A Miami Department of Fire-Rescue official said construction workers struck a 5-inch gas main, but rising tidal water was filling the hole where the ruptured pipe was located.
More work is expected to be done to permanently cap the leak.
Drivers were advised to take the Julia Tuttle or MacArthur causeways as an alternate route.