A short time ago, Route 61 finally reopened after being closed Tuesday and most of Wednesday due to a gas leak.
Around 4:00pm, Wednesday, the northbound lanes reopened from the St. Clair side. Southbound remained closed for a period of time but opened a little while later.
Around 7:45am, Tuesday, emergency personnel were called to the area of Route 61 and Darkwater Road for a report of a natural gas leak.
St. Clair fire personnel arrived on scene and confirmed a leak.
Fire police were requested to shut down the northbound lanes at the Walmart intersection in St. Clair and the southbound lanes at the mall ramp near Frackville. Darkwater Road between Route 61 and Peach Mountain Road/Mount Laffee Road also remained closed
It was later revealed that work was being done on the Route 61 project when workers struck a UGI Natural Gas Line.
The road remained closed all of Tuesday, and overnight into Wednesday as crews continued to work on the situation.
On Wednesday morning, UGI Spokesperson John Mason said that crews were working on the final repairs and had hoped to have the highway open in a few hours.