Several buildings were evacuated Wednesday due to a gas leak in downtown Dover.

The fire department says construction crews were working to replace old pipes in the ground, causing the leak. Officials were called to the scene around 11 a.m.

The Dover Library, Sabor Latino Restaurant and Dover Child Care Center were evacuated for a little less than two hours. Fire officials say the evacuation was done out of an abundance of caution.

"Doing all these gas line projects in town, we've had an influx of them over the last few years," says Dover Fire Department Capt. Jon Sperry. "It kind of goes with the work, the gas lines are old, some of them are misaligned."

Sperry says this leak was a little more concerning because it is a heavily populated area.

New Jersey Natural Gas was able to contain the leak.