A gas leak that led to evacuations at and around the University of Utah on March 24 resulted when a line marker company didn't tell construction crews bad weather had prevented them from doing their job.

A contractor using boring equipment struck a 6-inch plastic line around 2 p.m. that Tuesday, causing gas to leak under ground at the intersection of 1580 East and 500 South. The gas was shut off after two hours, and no injuries were reported.

Questar spokesman Darren Shepherd on Thursday said the construction crews that hit the utility had no way of knowing there was a gas line buried under the ground -- it was never marked.

Shepherd said ELM, the company Questar uses to mark gas lines, sent a line locator out Monday to paint the ground so construction crews would know which areas to avoid.

But the worker saw snow and slush on the road that would wash away the paint and chose instead to return Tuesday for another try. The problem: ELM didn't tell anyone, and the contractor moved forward with the digging.

"By the time [the line locator] arrived, it was too late," Shepherd said. "They'd already hit the line. It was an accident, but the employee didn't get it marked, and it resulted in this."

Shepherd said ELM will have to pay for the costs of Questar workers responding to the scene and for the price of the lost gas.

Shepherd urged people to call Blue Stakes and have lines properly marked before they dig. In this case, he said, the contractor followed the law and is not liable for the accident.