CBS 2 Chicago wbbm7801059 670 The Score

Local

Huge Stone Falls From Train Embankment, Ruptures Gas Line

View Comments
A large stone fell from a CTA train embankment near 16th and State streets and ruptured a natural gas line on Feb. 13, 2012. (Credit: CBS)

A large stone fell from a CTA train embankment near 16th and State streets and ruptured a natural gas line on Feb. 13, 2012. (Credit: CBS)

Don't Miss This
Don't Miss This

CHICAGO (CBS) – A large piece of stone fell from a railroad embankment in the South Loop on Monday, rupturing a gas line and prompting the evacuation of a nearby coffee shop.

The massive piece of stone fell Monday morning from a wall supporting a railroad overpass just north of 16th Street along State Street.

As CBS 2′s Mike Parker reports, it was fortunate the stone fell between the railroad embankment and the wall of a nearby building, so no one was injured when it fell to the ground. But it hit a gas line on the way down, triggering a hazardous materials response.

Police shut down State Street between 16th Street and Roosevelt Road while the scene was secured.

The nearby Overflow coffee shop was briefly evacuated after the stone ruptured the gas line.

A coffee shop employee said he wasn’t surprised so much by the size of the stone as the fact it fell from a rail embankment.

“It takes those to hold up a train and, so, you’ve got to have a heavy structure, heavy material,” Overflow employee Justin Buege said. “But the fact that it fell makes you weary of the structural integrity of it.”

A Canadian National Railway crew that hauled away the stone estimated it weighed 1,600 pounds.

Peoples Gas officials said service to the building affected by the ruptured gas line would be out until sometime Monday evening.

One of the tracks that runs over the embankment was shut down after the stone fell from the embankment, but that track was up and running again by 5 p.m.

View Comments
  • juju

    The stone feel because The Yard Ape, sat down in his comfy basement apartment for a wonderful night of Adult cable services. PS. Keep the volume low so you don’t wake up your mom.

  • royalfuzziness

    The railroad doesn’t maintain it’s raggady ass lines.

  • Yarry

    They should check out the bridge next at clinton street in chicago. When I looked up and saw how much concrete was missing and the rotting steel supports I moved my car

blog comments powered by Disqus
Listen Live!

RSS Most Popular News

Follow CBS Chicago

Like us on foursquare

RSS Contests & Promotions

  • Win $1,000 In Gas From Hyundai! June 17, 2013
    Enter to win $1,000 in free gas from Hyundai! What’s better than free gas? How about the 2013 Elantra Limited with an EPA-Estimated 38 MPG Highway! 28 City/38 Hwy. EPA Estimates. For comparison only. Actual mileage may vary.
  • Join Hankook Tire To Reel In The Next Big Catch May 20, 2013
    Join Hankook tire to reel in the next great catch! Click here to go to www.TirePrize.com and enter for your chance to win the ultimate fishing excursion in Puerto Rico!
  • Marquette County Convention & Visitors Bureau Post Game Show Giveaway May 10, 2013
    Listen to The Score’s Baseball Post Game Show for your chance to win a $100 lodging gift certificate from the Marquette County Convention & Visitors Bureau!
  • Enjoy Golf’s Best Round With GREY GOOSE Vodka May 1, 2013
    Enjoy Golf’s Best Round this season with GREY GOOSE Vodka! Visit your participating retailer today and purchase one 750 mL or larger bottle of GREY GOOSE Vodka to receive one free round of golf!
WBBM Newsradio 780, Radio Stations & Broadcast Companies, Chicago, IL

Twitter Updates