A sinkhole on Hickory Street was found by city workers on Wednesday prompting the B.O.W. to approve emergency status on getting it repaired. Smoke tests will be among the methods used to find where the potential problem may lie. (Photo by Stacey Page)

Sometime late Wednesday afternoon city officials were notified of a potential looming problem along Hickory Street and the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks.

City crews located a sinkhole along the railroad tracks on Hickory Street. To the common person, it simply resembles a large pothole, but stormwater coordinator Theresa Sailor said the problem lies 19 feet below surface where sewer line exists and, if left alone, could become an emergency situation.

Sailor and city engineer James Emans came before the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety this morning to request emergency status on the sinkhole. “We don’t even know if it’s a serious problem right now,” said Emans, “and we hope that with our investigation in the next couple of days it will show it’s not a concern. But things have been moving very quickly in the last 24 hours” as the cause is researched.

Sailor said the sinkhole could be the result of the existing line, which was already tagged as one likely to abandoned due to the condition. But, she said it is also fed by another line that is unmapped on city blueprints. “We want to plug that line and reroute it, but we can’t do that until we find where the other line is coming from,” she told the B.O.W. board.

After the meeting Sailor said the issue may also be the result of a natural spring. She said railroad officials were on scene early this morning to evaluate the problem as well. The emergency status approved by the B.O.W. means the city will immediately gather quotes to repair the problem, should further investigation reveal it is a serious matter.

Smoke tests, cameras and other methods of checking the lines are underway. Sailor said Hickory Street remains open and the residences and commercial buildings in the area are not believed to be in danger.