Gas service was disrupted to several buildings on North Campus Wednesday night after utility work on North Campus damaged a gas line. The break was located near a gas-line regulator on Lane Avenue.
“It was a contractor who was doing work there and punctured a gas line,” said Ohio State Student Life spokeswoman Kellie Uhrig.
The break left several North Campus buildings without heat Wednesday.
“We don’t have hot water and we don’t have heat,” said Stephanie Giese, who works for the university and lives in an OSU-owned apartment building on Lane Avenue. She said she was unconcerned about the break Wednesday evening. “It stays pretty warm in here.”
The break affected all North Campus dorms and buildings, Uhrig said. University buildings Raney and Royer Commons were affected, as well as North Campus dining halls including North Commons and Burritos, which offered a reduced menu Wednesday evening.
Multiple residence halls had posted signs informing students of the temporary heat and water loss, and a message from residence hall staff was sent to some affected North Campus residents Wednesday.
“We wanted to make sure you are aware that a gas line serving the North Campus area was punctured earlier this evening. The fire department has responded. There is no danger from the incident, and the gas line has been shut off,” the email said.
The email said the situation was under control and being handled by Columbia Gas of Ohio.
“Columbia Gas has work crews on site and they will work throughout the night to restore service. We expect this restoration to take place sometime early tomorrow morning. Once restored, it will take an additional three to four hours for the system to come back to full service,” the email said.
Service2Facilities tweeted from its account @OSU_S2F at 5:37 p.m. Wednesday that gas service was expected to be restored by 7 a.m. Thursday.
However, the email asked residents to conserve heat in the meantime.
“We ask that all windows be kept closed overnight. (The) RPAC is available for showers until midnight tonight and opens at 5:45 tomorrow morning,” the email said.
The email asked residents to contact their residence hall staff with any questions about the situation, however some living in the area said they aren’t worried.
“We’ll be fine,” Giese said, “as long as it comes back (Thursday).”