ALTON - Gordon Moore Park will reopen at 7 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
This announcement comes after a sudden sinkhole closed the park in late June. During a press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, Alton Mayor David Goins said the park will reopen, including the Spencer T. Olin golf course and Lloyd Hopkins baseball field. Ballfield #1 and the soccer field where the sinkhole occurred will remain closed.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
“This is a significant step forward for our community, allowing us to begin returning to the activities and routines that make Alton such a vibrant place to live,” Goins said. “However, I still must emphasize that safety remains our utmost concern. While we’re making progress, we’re not entirely out of the woods yet.”
Goins noted that the mine subsidence and resulting sinkhole were “absolutely unprecedented.” He explained that New Frontier Materials, the mining company that oversees the mines in Alton, and the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) have been working with the City of Alton to determine the cause of the sinkhole.
New Frontier Materials has been drilling near the sinkhole and bolting the mine ceiling to verify the thickness of the rock. New Frontier Materials, MSHA and the City’s civil engineers and geotechnical engineers agree that there are sufficient rock ceilings in place to reopen the park.
Additional investigative drilling is needed before reopening Ballfield #1 and the soccer field. These areas will be fenced off. The sinkhole itself will continue to be monitored with cameras, and there will be lights on the soccer field after dark.
“[New Frontier Materials] will continue their investigative drilling work, working toward the sinkhole to identify and isolate areas where the ceiling rock thickness is inadequate,” Goins explained. “Once the extent of these insufficient thicknesses are fully understood, repair plans will be developed and implemented.”
He assured citizens that no residents will be affected by the investigative drilling. When asked who will pay for the repairs, Goins said they have not “crossed that bridge yet.”
Goins said New Frontier Materials leases the property for the mines from the City of Alton, and mines have been under the park “for as long as [he] can remember.” The City will continue to lease this property to New Frontier Materials.
Justin Kleinschmidt, vice president of Sheppard, Morgan and Schwaab Engineers, said they “don’t have any concerns” about Ballfield #1. There is additional work that must be done to ensure the safety of the miners, so MSHA did not yet clear this area to reopen. Kleinschmidt predicted that it will be another week or two before this area is cleared.
He also noted that the sinkhole’s diameter has “doubled or tripled” in size since it first developed on June 26, 2024, due to natural sloughing. The sinkhole itself is “a couple hundred feet” deep. He said that the sinkhole’s sudden development “raises some questions” because the areas around the sinkhole have a thick rock ceiling.
“It’s just an anomaly where millions and millions of years ago, when that rock was put in place and formed, there was a little void there that didn’t have any rock in it, and that’s what caused the collapse, is what they’re expecting,” Kleinschmidt explained. “But everywhere else, underneath the roadways, underneath the golf course portion, no questions or no concerns with the thickness of the ceiling rock there.”
Michael Haynes, the City’s Parks and Recreation Director, expressed excitement about the park’s reopening. He noted that the Spencer T. Olin golf course is in “pristine condition” and ready for its 7 a.m. tee time on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. He added that the park plans to host fall soccer, though no soccer will be played on the field with the sinkhole, which was the park’s main soccer area.
Haynes recently announced his resignation to take on another role in Tower Grove. He said that Deputy Director Lyndsey Younger will oversee much of the park’s reopening.
“We’ve been told by all the experts that it is 100% safe,” Haynes said. “So that’s what the City is going to do is get back to our main objective, which is, at least for the Parks department, to provide recreational facilities for residents.”
Goins added that the City has shown “an abundance of caution” with their reopening plans. According to Goins, they could have opened the park immediately following the sinkhole, but they decided to wait for more information.
He will be present to unlock the gates of Gordon Moore Park at 7 a.m. on Aug. 16, and he will play with his grandchildren on the playground to demonstrate the safety of the park.
“In closing, I assure you that the City of Alton is committed to transparency and safety,” Goins said. “We are working closely with all stakeholders to ensure that our park and community are not only restored, but strengthened by the lessons that we have learned. I am hopeful and confident that together, we will emerge from this situation stronger and more united.”
More like this:
Related Video:
