Warsaw Engineer James Emans says a sinkhole identified late last week does not appear to be a risk for a catastrophe.

On Thursday, Emans and stormwater coordinator Theresa Sailor approached the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety seeking emergency status on the sinkhole at the northern end of Hickory Street at Main Street. The idea was to continue to investigate what was causing the sinkhole, how serious the situation was and to seek immediate resolve if it was determined to be an issue. (See related)

This morning, Emans told StaceyPageOnline.com that the sinkhole “is not a risk” and is at the site of a line that has already been abandoned. In fact, initial concerns focused largely around the railroad tracks, but Emans said the train traffic is perhaps what kept the problem from getting worse.

Vibrations from the trains has caused debris to continue to fall into the vacant space some 19 feet below the surface. Contractors have already plugged both ends of the line and continue to monitor the situation, but Emans is confident the problem was found in time and does not cause a significant threat. He did say that the sinkhole will be filled in and should not be any further issue.