The implications would have been way worse had it happened during the week.
The Montreal fire department said a 4-inch pipe was pierced during roadwork Sunday just after 8 AM in the area of 1006 Mountain near the Bell Center.
As a result, a section of the downtown area was blocked off to traffic bounded by Rene Levesque, Peel, St Antoine and Mountain.
Some 50 firefighters and Gaz Metropolitain were called to the scene.
No evacuations were ordered, but the Lucien-L'Allier Metro station was closed for a time as a preventive measure.
The area that was cordoned of to traffic was reopened early in the afternoon.
Hydro Quebec cut power to area customers for a time while the repairs were carried out.