Chicot Road North of Hwy 90 Closed

If you were in Pascagoula and planning on taking Chicot Road or just driving by, you may have noticed caution tape, lots of hard hats, and a few crews. Jackson County officials are trying to get to the root of how gasoline ended up in the city’s sewer system. Gina Tomlinson has the details.

A section of Chicot Road in Pascagoula will remain closed while officials investigate a gas leak. City of Pascagoula Public Relations Specialist Anne Pitre said, “Gasoline is a flammable liquid so it could have been really dangerous if we hadn’t caught it so quickly but we were able to spring into action.”

The Department of Environmental Quality and other Jackson County officials responded right away to contain the leak. Only north of Highway 90 is closed but Pascagoula residents may be eager for things to clear because Chicot isn’t a road less travelled by. Pascagoula resident Kenisha Thomas said, “The whole community uses that road, it’s a busy road. It is. We got to make another route to go the other way.”

The gasoline was originally found infiltrating the sewer system but authorities are still investigating the source of the problem. First detected at a Jackson County Utility Authority Lift Station, the gasoline leak lines were traced to the area. “It could be someone didn’t dispose of gasoline properly, it’s hard to say,” said Pitre.

The City of Pascagoula can’t clarify when Chicot Road will reopen but authorities are working to fix the problem as quickly as possible. “There’s no threat to public safety or anything like that, the only thing that people really need to be aware of is that the road is going to remain closed for a few more days at least,” said Pitre.

Until then, motorists can take a parallel road or Highway 90 to access surrounding businesses.

[mappress mapid=”2710″]