For the second time in three days, construction crews working near Skyline High School broke a gas pipe causing a leak that required the closure of Southeast Eighth Street.

The leak was reported at 10:43 a.m. on Thursday, and crews had the leak capped by 11:05 a.m., Puget Sound Energy spokeswoman Dorothy Bracken said.

Crews working on excavation at the site hit the four-inch plastic pipe, causing a cloud of dirt and gas and forcing the evacuation of staff from Skyline and nearby homes while crews checked the gas levels in the cloud, Sammamish Police Sgt. Bob Baxter said. The cloud did not have dangerous levels.

The street was closed for about 45 minutes while crews cleaned debris from the road and completed safety checks.

The contractor, Lydig, has had several problems with the Skyline construction project.

In July, the Sammamish city officials issued a stop work order on the construction site after the contractor "jumped the gun" and began clearing the site before all the necessary permits had been issued. The district is still waiting to finalize those permits.

On Monday, an excavator hit the pipeline 10 feet away from Thursday's break. The road had to be closed while the leak was capped on Monday as well.

"Two times in one week is kind of pushing it," Sgt. Baxter said.

PSE will be investigating both the incidents in the next few days, Bracken said, and noted that there could be fines for the contractor from either or both incidents.

It is state law that anyone who digs deeper than 12 inches contact the "Call Before You Dig" number, 1-800-424-5555. State officials will then come out and spray paint a diagram of the underground utilities. If the contractor did not call, they could face fines up to triple the cost of repair, loss of energy and police and fire services, Bracken said. The maximum fine under state law cannot exceed $10,000.

Issaquah School District Spokeswoman Sara Niegowski said that district officials have already gone to the site and made sure that all lines were clearly and brightly drawn.

"We definitely want to make sure our construction workers are a bit more diligent," Niegowski said.

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