May 10, 2023 |
Photo – Sinkhole on CR 297 North of Hanna – Courtesy CC R&B
Collapsing underground mines in the Hanna area prompt the Abandoned Mine Lands Project to close County Road 297.
People are being told to stay off County Road 297 which connects US 30 to the eastern section of Hanna, known as Elmo. At the April 18th Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Department of Environmental Quality’s Abandoned Mine Lands Project Manager Bryan Freed said he is working on two projects in the town. Freed told the board that Brierley Associates will continue to fill the mines under Hanna and also address new voids that have opened along County Road 297.
Freed said Carbon County Emergency Manager Lenny Layman has shut down County Road 297.
The Carbon County Road and Bridge Department issued a statement this week telling people not to use County Road 297. Large open pits, called subsidences, have appeared along the edges of the road. The voids lead directly down into former coal mines which crisscross the area.
Melissa Bautz is a subsidence specialist with Brierley Associates. Bautz said some of the holes can extend 40 feet-down to the mine floor below. Bautz said County Road 297 sits on the surface of what was a large coal deposit.
To stop the road from collapsing, Brierley Associates will fill the voids with a special grout mixture. Bautz said she thinks it will require almost 20,000 cubic yards of material to reinforce the road surface.
Freed said the Abandoned Mine Lands Project is waiting for permission from the Union Pacific Railroad and a local ranch before Brierley Associates can begin filling the mine. The AML project manager said he anticipates work to start next week and be completed within six months.
Work to fill the remaining mines within the town of Hanna is also expected to last six months. Freed said the two Hanna projects have a combined price tag of $12 million.
