Following Wednesday meetings with engineers, Selma Public Works director Tommy Smith said the city has found the cause of the Mabry Street collapse. Now, he said, they just have to assess the damage and see how much work will be needed to make full repairs.

“It was actually caused by a problem with a storm drain,” he said. “That caused it to produce a bow under the pavement and that’s what caused the collapse.”

Smith said they first want to make sure the damage hasn’t spread to other parts of Mabry Street before placing a cost and date of completion on the project.

“We’re going to take a good look at some other spots and make sure it was just there,” he said. “We’ll look at some places where there are drops in the road and see if there were problems throughout the street.”

Smith said he will meet with Mayor George Evans and the Selma City Council to address the best strategy for repairing the street.

“Right now we are in the preliminary stages,” he said. “We have addressed that section and now we just have to see if it has spread or if it is limited to that one area.”

The chunk of pavement has been moved.

out of the hole for now and the area is blocked off with warning signs and barrels.

The city again encouraged motorists to avoid the area if possible to prevent potential accidents.