A sidewalk-improvement project turned into an evacuation Wednesday morning when a construction crew working on Market Street between Pine and Poplar streets punctured a National Fuel Gas Co. main line.

It was 9:48 a.m. when workers from Boyd’s Construction of Meadville cut the main while moving a piece of sidewalk.

Evacuated as the smell of natural gas filled the surrounding area were nearby residents; the Lew Davies Community Center, which is directly across the street from the break; and businesses including McDonald’s and Howick Motors Body Shop. According to Donna Stimpson, executive director of Active Aging Inc., approximately 75 staff members and seniors made an uneventful exodus from the center and across Park Avenue, where most waited until repairs were complete and the all-clear was given at 10:40.

“They were planning to repair the sidewalk and fix the part between the sidewalk and the curb,” said Rick Watkins, owner of the business and rental properties that line the block along the west side of Market Street, speaking of the task Boyd’s Construction of Meadville was performing on his behalf. “For safety, clearing snow, water drainage and looks, we thought we’d clean them all up.”

The Tribune was unable to reach Boyd’s Construction for comment.

Because the City of Meadville is responsible for maintaining the area between the street and the sidewalk — and the curb was also in extremely bad shape — contractor George Boyd contacted Joe Gigler, interim superintendent of parks and streets, for permission to replace the crumbled sandstone curb with concrete, Gigler said. The city agreed to pay Boyd for the work he did between the street and the sidewalk in conjunction with the Watkins project.

“In the midst of doing it, they found that somebody installed a National Fuel Gas main 12 to 15 inches below the surface,” Watkins said. “When they pulled off the cement, they apparently nicked it.”

According to National Fuel spokesperson Nancy Taylor, the contractor made a fundamental mistake. “They did not call to have the line spotted,” she said Wednesday afternoon.

On May 1 of this year, “811” became the national “Call-before-you-dig” telephone number. Under the long-standing program, local call centers across the country contact the appropriate utility companies, which then visit potential digging sites and mark the approximate locations of their lines with paint or flags. In response to widespread confusion about exactly what number to dial to reach a call center, the 811 number was designated by the Federal Communications Commission in 2005 in accordance with a 2002 act of Congress.

“If 911 is the number you call to report emergencies, 811 is the number to call to prevent them,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters said when the number was introduced in May.

On the same day, a national public education campaign was launched to raise awareness of the new number. “National Fuel recently did advertisements for 811 and also supplied inserts that were included in gas bills,” Taylor said. “It was a pretty big ad — in color — with 811 and a big shovel.”

According to Watkins, however, no amount of surface marking would have prevented Wednesday’s break.

“They weren’t digging,” he said. “They were on the surface. We knew there was a gas main there — but we didn’t realize it was that close to the surface.”

With National Fuel’s repairs to the main complete, cement for the new curbs was expected to be put into place Wednesday afternoon. The necessary repair or replacement of the sidewalk surface will soon follow. “It looks better to have a nice neighborhood,” Watkins said, adding that good sidewalks and curbs are “also easier to maintain — and safer.”

Meadville Central Fire Department was assisted at the scene by National Fuel Gas personnel, Meadville Volunteer Fire Department and Meadville Auxiliary Police.