Island Park road reopens after gas main break

A work crew using a backhoe punctured a gas main Wednesday morning in Island Park, forcing the closure of Long Beach Road for nearly three hours.

A spokeswoman for National Grid said the incident was reported to the utility just before 10:30 a.m. and emergency crews had made the area "safe" by about 11:15 a.m. Emergency repair work to the main, located near the intersection of Newport Road and Long Beach Road, was completed shortly after 1 p.m., officials said.

Nassau County police said the break was caused by a crew working on nearby water pipes. They said the incident forced the closure of Long Beach Road between Newport and Ostend Road.

National Grid said about 25 homes were affected by the break, but could not immediately confirm if any of those homes were briefly evacuated.