UPDATE: Heavy machinery digging up Belmont Ave. to stop steam leak

 Heavy machinery was brought to Belmont Avenue early Tuesday to find and fix the source of a steam leak. 

People driving along Youngstown’s Belmont Avenue late Monday encountered what appeared to be smoke pouring from the road into the sky. It wasn’t smoke, but steam.

A fire truck returning from a call spotted steam coming from a sewer near the YSU campus late Monday. Concerned that the steam may interfere with visibility for drivers, a firefighter reported it to a dispatcher.

University officials had spotted the steam earlier and learned it was from the nearby SOBE thermal energy plant that supplies heating and cooling to buildings around Downtown Youngstown.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, steam was still rising from the street as the blacktop was being torn up by a crew sent to make repairs.

SOBE owner David Ferro tells 21 News that a third-party contractor struck one of the company's steam lines, but no downtown businesses are impacted.

Ferro said it will take three to four hours to expose the ruptured pipe and said the repairs should be completed by the end of the week.