13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |New Castle battles sinkhole problem

New Castle battles sinkhole problem

Jeremy Brilliant/Eyewitness News

Henry County - In New Castle, they are literally up to their elbows in problems.

Earlier this month, a few small openings were spotted on city streets. That number has now grown to nearly two dozen. Repairs are underway after days of torrential rain and an antiquated sewer system added up to pipes crumbling and the earth giving way.

"With the amount of rainfall, it's put a lot of pressure on them and they've had stress fractures no telling how long," explained Bobby York of New Castle Water Pollution Control. "When heavy rain started, they started breaking away."

York said the sinkholes are anywhere from six to 14 feet deep.

On Legion Drive, officials discovered the largest underground cavern. The visible hole is only a couple of feet in diameter, but they say it extends up to 100 feet long, six feet under the road.

"What we know is not that big a problem, it's fixable," said New Castle Mayor Jim Small. "Our concern is what we don't know. The sinkholes that have not manifested all the way to the surface and may not for weeks or even months."

No one has been hurt, but city workers don't want to take any chances.

"This truck needs to go, or he may come out and his truck disappeared," said York, the Water Pollution Control worker who spotted a pickup truck near one of the holes.

Garson Purvis didn't think twice about parking his pickup next to one of the holes.

"I thought it was a pothole. I usually park here every day," said Purvis. Once he found out the hole is 14 feet deep he said, "Okay, well I'm getting this thing out of here. This thing cost too much to get out of that."

It's a city-wide problem that will take deep pockets - several hundred thousand dollars to fix and that's if nothing else surfaces in the meantime. While New Castle did not budget for the unexpected repairs, the city is applying for grants through FEMA since Henry County has been declared a federal disaster area.