A gas line break Tuesday morning forced the evacuation of a school and some residents and businesses in Uptown Dallas.

Dallas Fire-Rescue officials said a construction crew doing work outside the William B. Travis Academy struck a 6-inch gas main just before 10:30 a.m.

The school staff smelled fumes and decided to move all 500 students to a nearby building before firefighters arrived.

The fire department also asked neighbors and businesses within 300 feet of the school to evacuate as a precaution. Parts of McKinney Avenue are shut down.

The students were bused to Spence Middle School across I-75 and finished up the school day there.


Dallas Fire-Rescue says it also evacuated about 200 people who live and work in the area just to be safe.

Kristy Halyburton lives in a high-rise across the street. She says there was a strong smell of gas when she went to get her car from the garage.

“As I was going down the stairwell steps, the smell of gas was absolutely overwhelming,” she said. “I kind of panicked. I wasn’t sure if I should go get the car still or not.”

First responders blocked off traffic in both directions on McKinney Avenue, the main artery through Uptown. They also closed off some side streets, forcing a lot of drivers to find an alternate route.

Crews are working into Tuesday evening to fix the gas line break.