Merriam ‘back to normal’ after Wednesday night gas leak prompted evacuation
For several hours Wednesday evening into early Thursday, crews worked to fix a gas line in Merriam after a leak caused a temporary evacuation.
By 2:45 a.m. Thursday, the city posted an update on its Facebook page alerting residents that the “gas line repair is complete” near the area of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Antioch Road and that the road was now open.
“Everything is back to normal as far as we know,” Chris Engel, Merriam City Administrator, told The Star late Thursday morning.
The leak occurred after a line was struck at a construction site. Multiple nearby homes and businesses were evacuated around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the city’s Facebook page. Residents were cleared to return to the area just after 8 p.m.
No one was injured, Engel said, adding that “it just stank for a few hours.”
The Star’s Caroline Zimmerman contributed reporting.
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 12:06 PM.
