ALTON, Ill. – A massive sinkhole that formed earlier this summer at Alton’s Gordon Moore Park created a whole lot of questions and concerns.
City officials haven’t said much about the investigation into how the 200-foot-wide sinkhole formed but Mayor David Goins is set to hold a news conference later Wednesday morning to disclose more information.
As you can imagine, a lot of people are hoping for answers. The city shut down Gordon Moore Park in late June. The shutdown forced summer camps to be cancelled and sports leagues to be relocated.
The silver lining is that no one was on the soccer field during the collapse. The owners of the mine, New Frontier Materials, initially detected signs of mine subsidence on June 26th.
Within three hours, the city quickly shut down the park and golf course, restricting public access.
A federal investigation by the mine safety and health administration is ongoing.
But neither the Mine Safety and Health Administration nor New Frontier have disclosed a timeline for the investigation.
People who live in Alton hope city leaders can fix the issue safely and efficiently.
Mayor Goins, along with other city officials, say they will provide updates Wednesday morning.
The news conference is expected to provide more information, including the assessment of the site, mitigation efforts, and the timeline for re-opening the park to the public.
The talk around town is that the park may be back open by the end of August. Fox 2 reached out to the mayor’s office and we were told they wouldn’t be releasing more information until their news conference, which is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday.
