Gas leaking from a manhole in the District led the U.S. Capitol Police to institute a temporary closure for traffic in the area Monday.

The leak started at around 4:25 p.m. from a manhole on Independence Avenue SE near Second Street, an area close to the Capitol and multiple Library of Congress buildings, the U.S. Capitol Police wrote on X.

As a precaution, authorities closed traffic on Independence Avenue between Second Street SE and Washington Avenue SW, and closed First Street SE between Independence Avenue and East Capitol Street NE.

After less than an hour, however, it was determined that the leaking gas was not hazardous, USCP wrote on X at around 5:12 p.m.

Commuters and other drivers would have to wait, however, for the roads to get clear — repairs by utility Washington Gas only finished up at around 6:43 p.m., according to the DC Police Traffic account on X.

Washington Gas has been replacing old pipes across the city since 2014, with work ongoing across the city. The closest area of ongoing pipe work to the site of the incident is a stretch along East Capitol Street SE from 11th Street SE to Massachusetts Avenue SE, according to the Washington Gas activity map.

Work on that section of pipe is expected to be finished by the end of June.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.