About 800 residential and commercial natural gas customers in Haymarket and Gainesville lost access to their fuel supply Sunday night when a road construction crew accidentally severed part of a gas line, according to town and Columbia Gas of Virginia officials.

Bob Innes, a spokesperson for Columbia, said that the unidentified VDOT contractor hit the line around 8:30 p.m. April 17 near the intersection of Gallerher Road and John Marshall Highway in Gainesville. The line supplies natural gas along Washington Street and other communities, ending by the U.S. 15 intersection near the Sheetz gas station, according to Innes.

Initially, Columbia technicians wanted to have at least a temporary clamp applied to the line to hold pressure but it did not work, he said, adding that work crews ended up finishing around 3 p.m. Monday and began re-establishing service to customers afterward.

"Because of the nature of our product, when the line (is) cut, we have to go door to door and shut off the meter and shut off the meter at each business or home," Innes said.

Innes cautioned against residents and business owners trying to restart their gas lines themselves as it takes a professional to actually do it. That same technician then is supposed to enter the home or business of the customer for a safety check on appliances, such as stoves, making sure the nobs are switched off before the gas is turned back on.

He said that those who receive gas-line service should not have to worry about paying extra for repairs as they are charged instead just based on how much gas they consume. Since the line was out, that means their bills would actually be lower because they were not using any gas, Innes mentioned.

Residents who were not home during repair visits could expect to have tags left at their door notifying them that they need to contact Columbia in order to have their fuel restored, said Innes.

Those with questions about their service could call the Columbia Gas Customer Contact Center at 1-800-543-8911 for more information.

Columbia gas officials planned to conduct an investigation while working with local and state government officials, Innes said.

According to Haymarket town clerk Jennifer Preli, only four phone calls came in to town hall by residents by Monday afternoon while others sent e-mails, mostly just asking for updates. The warm weather meant that residents were not in danger of freezing, she noted, instead saying the bigger issues were with cooking and residents being able to heat water.

She said about 15 feet of the pipe needed to be repaired and that was the primary hold up for residents and business owners having their fuel meter reactivated.

"It's mainly the restaurants" that received the biggest impact, Preli said, mentioning one of them that she knew of switched to grilling food for a day instead of relying on gas. "They're making do, they're doing the best they can."