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Construction Crew Hits Gas Line at One Paseo Site in Carmel Valley

Police closed down El Camino Real between Del Mar Heights Road and Neurocrine Place while crews got a handle on the gas main break

Police temporarily shut down traffic in a busy part of Carmel Valley Friday morning after a construction crew hit a gas line at the construction site of the much-buzzed-about One Paseo project.

According to officials with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), a contractor working on the mixed-use development project hit a small, 2-inch gas line while digging shortly before 10 a.m.

The construction site is located at 3387 Del Mar Heights Rd., less than a half-mile from the Del Mar Highlands Town Center, home to several restaurants and a luxury movie theater.

SDFD officials said SDG&E crews were immediately called to the scene to cap the gas leak. Nearby businesses were not impacted and the leak did not result in any evacuations, an SDFD spokesperson said. No one was hurt in the incident.

Police closed down El Camino Real between Del Mar Heights Road and Neurocrine Place while crews got a handle on the leak and began repairing the break.

The state of California has created an 811 phone system for people and construction crews to obtain a free mapping of the lines on their property before they begin digging at any site. Starting on Jan. 1, a state board will have the power to fine people who dig before calling that number. Those fines could run upwards of $50,000.

The phone system is meant to serve as a deterrent for people working in the ground, as utility lines could be located underneath sidewalks or only a few inches below the surface. SDG&E said it supports the new law.

SDG&E told NBC 7 Friday the company has experienced 385 gas line ruptures in 2018, about twice as many as it did in 2010. A spokesperson said that could be attributed to a healthier economy leading to more construction in San Diego over the past eight years.

The One Paseo complex in Carmel Valley is expected to open in 2019. The large-scale project will feature shops, eateries, apartments, offices and public spaces. Restaurant tenants, thus far, include Shake Shack, Parakeet Cafe, Sweetfin Poke, Salt & Straw Ice Cream, and Blue Bottle coffee, to name a few.

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