Community mural covers eyesore left from 8-year-old gas leak in Calgary neighbourhood

Eight years after a gas leak in the Bowness neighbourhood, a mural is on display covering up an eyesore in the community thanks to the work of hundreds of students.

In August 2010, about 9,000 litres of gasoline leaked from underground tanks at the Gas Plus station onto Mainstreet Bowness Road in northwest Calgary.

Afterwards, a large fence was put up to separate the former Gas Plus site from the community.

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But a mural designed by hundreds of students from a local high school was unveiled on Monday — a beautiful sight to many in the community.

This past fall, the Mainstreet Bowness Business Improvement Area (BIA) partnered with Bowness High School to create a mural that signifies how a community can come together to create something that everyone can enjoy, the BIA said in a news release.

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Community partners, students and officials gathered Monday morning to unveil the project and celebrate the theme of the mural; “Bowness — Stronger Together.”

Last year Alberta Environment was granted access to the site so that they could begin remediation to stop any further environmental damage from the leak.