SELMA — Construction to repair the sinkhole on Broad Street should begin soon.

The Selma City Council has declared repairs on the gap as an emergency measure, which would allow the city to farm out the work without having to take bids.

Mayor George Evans said the sinkhole is the result of a sewer line cave-in beneath the street surface.

Evans said he had asked the state for help with repairs because the street is actually a state highway that runs through Selma. The state turned down the mayor, saying the sinkhole was caused by the sewer line collapse underneath the street and not by a faulty street surface.

“There is no money federal or state to repair it,” the mayor told the council during a meeting Tuesday.

The estimated cost of the repair is $45,000.

The council voted to move $25,000 in unappropriated funds from the city’s budget to help with the costs. The other $20,000 will come from oil and gas money held by the city, which may be used for these projects.

There is no timetable for the repair.