INEZ - A federal prison under construction on a mountaintop in eastern Kentucky became an unlikely tourist attraction when a 100-foot guard tower started tilting slightly to one side.

        Locals dubbed it the Leaning Tower of Inez, a designation that soon may be lost.

        Crews have begun pumping concrete grout beneath the tower to shore and level the foundation, said Kay King, a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington.

        “They're working on the situation now,” Ms. King said Thursday. “I'm not sure how long it will take. It's not something that's going to drag on.”

        Ms. King said water seeping into the ground beneath the $170 million prison caused the foundation on one of the six guard towers to sink about an inch on one side. A portion of an administrative office building sank about 3 inches.

        The Bureau of Prisons spent $40 million to stabilize the ground before construction began.

        The prison, which is expected to be completed in January, will provide 400 jobs and is viewed as an economic development project by local officials.

        Liz Hamilton, an economic development specialist in the Big Sandy area, said the payroll is expected to be about $12 million a year.

        The prison will house 960 high-security inmates and 126 minimum-security inmates.

        Pocahontas Land Co. donated 316 acres of land for the prison near the Big Sandy Regional Airport at Honey Branch in Martin County.

        Barbara Pinson, a spokeswoman for the Martin County Sheriff's Department, said the general public can't get a close look at the leaning tower.

        “They've got it closed off,” she said. “They don't let people go in and out.”

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