Photo: Colin Dacre

UPDATE: 2:10 p.m.

Upper Bench Road has now partially reopened. 

Traffic is single-lane alternating at this time directly around the work site. 

UPDATE 10:50 a.m.

FortisBC says the gas leak was caused when a third-party struck a 60 millimetre main around 9:30 a.m.

The company says gas is now under control and repairs are underway. The fix should take "a couple hours," as crews need to pinch both ends of the main. 

Upper Bench Road will likely stay closed for the duration of the repairs to allow crews to work.

ORIGINAL 9:50 a.m.

A gas leak has caused the City of Penticton to close Upper Bench Road until further notice. 

"From what I've been told, a utility crew hit a gas main, and the associated repair crews are now on site to fix it," said Philip Cooper, city communications manager. "As a preventative measure, they have closed Upper Bench Road to traffic while that repair takes place."

Upper Bench is closed between Munson Ave. and Middle Bench Road. 

He said they have not determined a time estimate for how long the repair will take.

FortisBC says it will be releasing information on the incident shortly.