Early in 1992, a contractor working for the city, near the Kinzie Street bridge, drove a wooden pile next to the wall of a drift under the river. The pressure from the pile began to cause a leak in the wall. The leak was small at first. A cable television employee spotted the leak and even captured it on video tape. The cable televison company then brought the problem to the attention of the city. Unfortunately, the city allowed the leak to continue for several months without repair. Eventually, the drift wall gave way, and the river poured into the tunnels. The water completely flooded the system, including many basements that were still connected to it. The Loop was shut down for days, and the flood caused millions of dollars in damage. The torrent of flood water, silt, and debris probably destroyed most of the remaining Chicago Tunnel Company freight cars and artifacts. If the city acted quickly and if the water tight doors had been left in place and maintained, the flood may have been prevented.