A high-pressure, natural gas leak on Sycamore Road forced the evacuation of several buildings and snarled heavy rush hour traffic Friday afternoon, DeKalb Fire Department officials said.

A Caterpillar tractor hit a disconnected valve on a gas line and punctured a finger-sized hole into it at about 3:50 p.m.

Workers were grading the driveway for the new Arby’s restaurant, 1930 Sycamore Road, DeKalb Fire Department Capt. Warren Lubbers said Sunday.

Sycamore Road was blocked off until about 11:15 p.m., he said.

The valve, a tiny hole in the bigger gas pipe, was located about 10 inches below the ground and had been used to run smaller gas lines to individual homes years ago, Lubbers said.

Fire officials evacuated the Bethany Baptist Church, Bethany Road, a few hours before a wedding was scheduled to begin, Lubbers said.

“The timing was terrible. But we can’t run people through a cloud of gas,” he said.

The Amoco Telebusiness Center, 1900 Sycamore Road, and the Wolohan Lumber and Home Improvement Center, 1926 Sycamore Road, were also evacuated, Lubbers said.

The gas company reduced the pipe pressure by bleeding off the gas and then clamped off the pipe to stop the leak, he said.