August 2, 2023 |
Photo – Sink hole on County Road 297 – Bigfoot99 file photo
Abandoned mine filling continues in Hanna. Work is on track to be finished by the end of the year, said AML Project Manager.
When the Hanna coal mines closed for good, the underground tunnels were left as they were. As the years passed, the ground above the tunnels began to collapse into the underground chambers. The process is called subsidence. The subsidences became so numerous that the Hanna Elementary School was moved to another location because the building was in danger of falling into the earth.
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s Abandoned Mine Land department has been filling in the voids left by over a century of coal extraction. Under the direction of the AML, thousands of cubic yards of a special grout mixture have been pumped into the mine shafts to fill the empty space and support the ground above. When the elementary school project was completed, AML moved their efforts to other parts of town. One project that became necessary to address was shoring up County Road 297. The second access road into Hanna and Elmo was closed in early May when signs of collapse appeared on the surface.
In May, AML Project Manager Brian Freed told the Board of Carbon County Commissioners that work would begin on County Road 297 the following month, in June. Freed said the job was expected to take approximately 180 days.
Earlier this week, Bigfoot99 asked Freed for an update on the Hanna mine remediation projects. Freed said grouting beneath CR 297 is progressing as expected. Freed said the operation should be completed by the end of the year.
County officials shut down the 297 road in early May when areas of subsidence were discovered in various spots along the roadside. Bigfoot99 asked Freed if the ground around the county road was better or worse than he expected. Freed said he wasn’t surprised by the condition of the area.
Freed said in late May, Abandoned Mine Land resumed work within the town of Hanna itself. Freed said AML discovered plenty of tunnels that hadn’t been addressed in the past. He said he also expected the in-town project to be completed by the end of the year.
Bigfoot99 asked Freed how much of the grouting material has been used so far to fill the mines beneath Hanna. Freed said he didn’t have the exact amount. The AML project manager said so far, the CR 297 project has consumed about one-third of the expected grouting material. Freed said the in-town project is around halfway done.
Freed said Hanna residents should expect to be able to use County Road 297 again by the beginning of next year.
