11 August, 2021
On Wednesday August 9, A.F. Amorello & Sons, Inc., the general contractor for the Main Street
Corridor Project, hit an active gas line while installing drainage infrastructure near the
intersection of Main and Pleasant Streets. A detail officer reported that a gas line had been
struck and the call was logged with the Hopkinton Police Department at 11:43am. Eversource
Gas was notified and they repaired the leak within a couple of hours. Road closures on Main
and Pleasant Streets were required.
Massachusetts State law requires that a contractor contact Dig Safe at least 72 business hours
(excluding weekends and legal holidays) prior to digging. Once notified, Dig Safe will contact
member utilities to come to the site and mark underground utility wires, cables and pipelines.
Amorello reported that Dig Safe had been contacted, but they began excavating before
Eversource Gas had marked out their lines. Although Amorello was aware that there were
active gas lines in the area and they were excavating carefully, they hit the gas line.
As a result of proceeding to excavate without waiting for Eversource Gas to mark their gas lines,
it is the Town’s understanding that Eversource Gas is taking this incident seriously and will
follow the appropriate protocols for violation of the Dig Safe law.
The Town has reviewed this event with MassDOT for reassurance that they will not allow similar
incidents to happen and that moving forward all rules required by DigSafe will be followed.
For more information about the Main Street Corridor Project, please visit the project website.
Project Website: https://hopkintonmainstreet.com/
Project Contact: mmurdock@hopkintonma.gov
