A road construction crew struck a natural gas main line Friday morning in Brooklyn Park, sending vapors into the air and causing a traffic disruption, a utility official said.

The leak occurred about 8:30 a.m. along County Road 81 (Bottineau Boulevard), requiring nearby 63rd Avenue to be closed from County Road 81 to Georgia Avenue, said CenterPoint Energy spokeswoman Rebecca Virden.

The natural gas was turned off about 30 minutes later, Virden added, and about 90 customers, never all of them residences, were without service heading into the afternoon.

One homeowner nearby became aware of the leak and "self-evacuated" after the contractor, Landwehr Construction, "hit our main," Virden said. No other evacuations were necessary.

County Road 81 was completely stripped down to the dirt at the time of the leak, she said. The restrictions on traffic nearby were to prevent a spark from igniting the escaped gas, she added.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482