By Anna Rochelle LINTON CAVE-IN: Jeff Lehman, the City of Linton's Gas & Water Utility Superintendent, responded to a water main break around 10 a.m. on Friday morning caused by cave-in of a stretch of the 4th St. SW roadway in the block between A St. SW and Vincennes St. Lehman said several homes in the area were without water service but a crew was working to restore service as quickly as possible. [Order this photo]

Jeff Lehman, the City's Gas & Water Utility Superintendent, said he hoped to have water service restored by Friday evening with a little luck.

At 5 p.m., Lehman said things were looking good, the job of installing a valve on the south side of the cave-in area had been completed, the north side valve was holding and crews were in the process of getting everyone's water turned back on.

By Anna Rochelle TO RESTORE WATER SERVICE: City of Linton utility crews continued to work throughout Friday in an effort to restore water service to the southwest neighborhood after a cave-in or sinkhole caused a water main to break. City Gas & Water Utility Superintendent Jeff Lehman (top left) and Dave Bailey (top right) assisted topside while Eddie Edmonson and Sam Templeton worked in mud to cut the 8" pipe around 2:30 p.m. [Order this photo]

When Lehman responded to the reported break around 10 a.m., he found the roadway caved in on 4th St. SW in the block between A St. SW and W. Vincennes St.

Before crews had shut off the water mains into the area, water was bubbling up in two places and pooling up to form a small circular pond making it impossible to tell exactly how deep the cave-in was.

"After we get the water turned off, we'll know more. Right now, it looks like the road might be sunk in about four feet," said Lehman.

After crews stop the water flow, Lehman said they will dig down to the main, snap it and put valves on. Leaving the collapsed section out, they will still be able to restore water service to all homes in the neighborhood.

The exact number of homes without water service as a result of the break was not known.

Lehman said he remembered another cave-in a few years ago in the same general area.

"There was another cave-in -- that was on 8th St. NW and the Highway 54 -- just a few blocks away," said Lehman.

A number of abandoned underground mines are known to run under parts of the Linton area so that was believed to be the likely cause of the cave-in.

In addition to work on the water lines, Lehman said there was also a 4" gas line running through the caved-in area and that would have to be shut off and repaired as well.

By mid-afternoon Friday, Lehman and city utility crews had dug down to the main and were in the process of making cuts in order to install valves.

Larry Franklin, an assistant superintendent on the crew, said the work being done on the 8" main was "a temporary fix" in order to restore water service as soon as possible.

The valve was being installed on the south side of the cave-in area close to the corner of 4th St. SW and A St. SW. on the edge of a residential yard of a house that city workers said had been abandoned for years.

Lehman said in addition to this valve, the water would also have be shut down on the north side of the cave-in area but a valve was already there.

"If it (the valve on the north side) holds, we'll have the water back on as soon as we get this valve in," said Lehman.

If the valve on the north side does not hold, Lehman said the crews will have to dig another hole to install another valve and they'll be on

the job until water is restored.