Traffic was shut down in both directions on Massachusetts Avenue from Albany to Blanche streets for more than an hour last Friday morning due to a high-pressure gas leak at a construction site on Lansdowne Street between Sam's Luncheonette and the Necco building.
Several MIT buildings were evacuated, including NW61, NW62 and N51/N52. Businesses on Massachusetts Avenue were also evacuated.
The leak was discovered at about 9:15 a.m. when a fire alarm sounded in Building NW61. Campus Police and the MIT Emergency Rescue Group responded along with the Cambridge fire and police departments. The all-clear was sounded at 10:15 a.m. and Massachusetts Avenue was reopened 10 minutes later.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 26, 2001.
