ALTON, Ill. – It’s been almost two months since the sinkhole in Alton formed, leaving summer camps canceled and sports leagues relocated. Locals are still struggling to process just how lucky everyone was that nobody was on the field at the time of the collapse.
Owner of My Just Desserts in downtown Alton Markus Boyd said, “It’s something of a real large magnitude happening in a place with kids…my children are grown now, however, I know people locally with young children and you know, who would want something like that to happen when children are playing?”
New Frontier Materials, the owners of the mine, initially detected signs of mine subsidence at 4:30 a.m. on June 26. Within three hours, the city shut down the park and golf course.
A federal investigation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration is underway, but neither MSHA or New Frontier has disclosed a timeline for the investigation. Citizens seem to have faith in their elected leaders to fix the issues safely and efficiently.
“I’m confident in Mayor Goins and his administration (that they) will be able to do the research necessary and have the qualified individuals here necessary to resolve it as soon as possible, and hope and pray that everything works out for the best,” Boyd said.
The City of Alton is scheduled to hold a press conference Wednesday morning. Mayor Goins and other city officials say they will provide updates on the subsidence and information on the assessment, mitigation efforts, and timeline for reopening Gordon Moore Park.
