NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
A natural gas line ruptured in Bordeaux early Thursday morning, blowing a hole in the road, damaging a church and briefly evacuating nearby residents.
A 16-inch line exploded around 12:30 a.m. across the street from the Bordeaux YMCA on Clarksville Pike.
Damage occurred to the roof and rear of The Church of Jesus Christ on Clarksville Pike. Cars parked at Jordan's Auto Sales on Clarksville Pike and Courtney Avenue were destroyed by flying debris.
Residents that live within a half-mile radius of the rupture were evacuated.
The line, which has 1,600 pounds of natural gas, is owned by Piedmont and caused a jet-like sound when it ruptured. Some residents said their hearing is still impaired because of the loud blast.
Clarksville Highway was shut down for a few hours but is now open.
Even though there is still a smell of natural gas still in the air, officials said it is safe for residents to return to their homes.
It's unclear what caused the explosion. Piedmont had been doing construction to install a new gas line parallel to the existing one in the area where the blast occurred.
Construction crews were not working when the blast happened.
Piedmont officials didn't know how long the project had been going on, but residents said crews had been there a month or more.
A 10 a.m. Thursday, Piedmont still had a three-mile section of the gas line blocked off, leaving one or two homes without gas, officials said.
It could be several days before Piedmont determines what caused the problem.
No injuries were reported.
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