A gas-line strike near Big Bend Road and U.S. 301 in Riverview caused a gas leak and sinkhole on Thursday, Oct. 22, prompting four business closures and a temporary road closure.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported that workers struck the line and that Chipotle, Walmart, Chase Bank and Burger King in the plaza were closed. No injuries had been reported when the agency posted its notice. Deputies were assisting Hillsborough County Fire Rescue at the scene.

Eastbound Big Bend Road between Lincoln Road and U.S. 301 was temporarily closed around 1 p.m., WFLA reported. The station's report, updated at 6:24 p.m. Oct. 22, said the road had reopened. It did not give an exact reopening time.

An Oct. 22 county closure notice reproduced by the Osprey Observer identified the damaged line as a 6-inch gas main. The temporary detours described in that notice applied during the emergency closure.

Separate road project continues nearby

The incident occurred near an ongoing Florida Department of Transportation intersection project at Big Bend Road and U.S. 301. FDOT lists the construction cost as $58.4 million, the contractor as Cone & Graham Inc., and the schedule as August 2025 through an estimated late-2027 completion.

The project replaces asphalt with concrete at the intersection and widens Big Bend Road between Simmons Loop and U.S. 301 to six lanes. The sheriff's incident notice did not identify the workers' employer or connect the gas-line strike to that project.

The Oct. 22 reports reviewed for this article do not establish the businesses' current operating status or when gas repairs were completed. The business closures described above refer to the day of the incident.