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A propane leak in Rosemount on Wednesday caused an hourslong shutdown of busy U.S. Highway 52, and led to two families being evacuated from their homes.

As of Thursday morning, the highway linking the Twin Cities and Rochester was back open — but reduced to one lane northbound as crews continued to work in the area.

According to a news release from city officials, Rosemount police and fire crews responded to a call around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and found a substance leak near the highway, south of the County Road 42 exit. 

Crews traced it back to a propane pipeline owned by the nearby Flint Hills Refinery. They shut down the four-lane highway in both directions between County Road 42 and County Road 46, and evacuated two families from nearby homes as a precaution. 

State and local officials and refinery crews isolated the line and started cleanup work. City officials said crews deployed an air monitoring system and a drone to survey the area.

Rosemount police said the leak was contained by 9:15 p.m., and the highway reopened around 11:30 p.m. There were no reports of injuries.

Gov. Tim Walz said in a social media post that he was briefed on the incident.

“I’m glad to hear that everyone is safe,” Walz wrote. “Thank you to the first responders and state agencies who responded to evacuate homes in the area and are investigating to find the exact location of the leak.” 

The City of Rosemount said crews are continuing to monitor the area.

Estelle Timar-Wilcox

Author

A propane leak in Rosemount on Wednesday caused an hourslong shutdown of busy U.S. Highway 52, and led to two families being evacuated from their homes. The leak was traced to a pipeline owned by the nearby Flint Hills Refinery.

Propane leak prompts highway closure, evacuations in Rosemount

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