Local News in Brief : Main Break Snarls Traffic
Traffic in downtown Los Angeles was tangled for several hours and tenants of luxury apartments on Bunker Hill had to go without hot water for much of Monday afternoon after a construction worker accidentally drilled a steel beam into a natural gas main.
The ruptured main, at 3rd and Flower streets, also cut off hot water to the Bonaventure Hotel and forced the closure of the 3rd Street tunnel between Flower and Olive streets as city firefighters hosed the area to dissipate the gas.
Southern California Gas Co. spokesman Rich Puz said a workman who was installing shoring for an underground construction project accidentally punctured the eight-inch gas line, which feeds the central city steam-generating plant near Bunker Hill.
The incident, which occurred about 2 p.m., forced streets to be closed well past the end of the evening rush hour.
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