Crawford Street between Washington and Walnut streets was closed to traffic late Friday after a sinkhole was discovered in the street, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said.

He said the hole was caused by a broken line buried under the street, adding the damaged line may be an extension of a drainage line repaired by the city in October at the intersection of Washington and Crawford.

“We don’t know for sure,” Flaggs said. “We’ll know more Monday when they are able to dig down and see. It is very deep.”

He said city employees used rod to probe for the line “and it went down 8 feet and didn’t stop.”

Flaggs said the Board of Mayor and Aldermen has not declared an emergency concerning the problem because blocking off Crawford Street will not affect the flow of traffic downtown.

The board in October declared an emergency after city crews discovered a broken 24-inch storm drain and a broken 6-inch sewer line under the intersection of Crawford and Washington Street.

The problem forced city officials to block off Washington between South and Clay streets.