The Colonial Pipeline in Chattanooga reopened at approximately 9:30 p.m. Thursday after crews worked to find and fix a leak alongside Shoal Creek off Suck Creek Road near Signal Mountain, according to a release from a Colonial spokesman.
Crews shut down the pipeline and closed valves, allowing it to drain all of the liquid from the pipe after the leak was first reported on Saturday when a nearby resident reported smelling gasoline.
Pipeline officials estimated Wednesday that about 15 barrels of gasoline (about 630 gallons) leaked from the 12-inch diameter pipeline, which carries petroleum products through the Chattanooga area to Nashville.
Crews replaced the affected pipeline segment, and Colonial officials said they will continue to work to restore the area and monitor the area. On Wednesday, Jason McDonald, a spokesman for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, said the gas never reached the creek which runs into the nearby Tennessee River.
Colonial Pipeline, based in Alpharetta, Ga., operates 5,599 miles of pipelines, transporting more than 100 million gallons daily of gasoline, jet fuel, home heating oil and other hazardous liquids in 13 states and the District of Columbia, according to company filings.