POTSDAM — Gas hissing from a ruptured line on a construction site Tuesday afternoon at Clarkson University forced the evacuation of the hill campus for a few hours.

The broken gas line occurred about 2:30 p.m. while a construction crew was digging between the Educational Resources Center and Science Center. The college is building a Technology Advancement Center.

The state-funded $5 million incubator facility will support renewable energy research and development laboratories, as well as the transfer of information and technology.

While the repair was being made by St. Lawrence Gas, all faculty and staff on the hill campus were dismissed and classes were canceled. Several buildings were evacuated during the incident. The repair work was completed about 5:40 p.m.

The Potsdam Volunteer Fire Department used natural gas detection units to check the affected area before declaring the scene safe. No injuries were reported.

Construction work and classes will resume today, Clarkson spokesman Michael Griffin said.