Still no timetable when Alton, Illinois Park could reopen following sinkhole collapse

ALTON, Il. (KMOX) - There's no timetable on when an Alton, Illinois park will reopen after a giant sinkhole opened up last month.

Last month, video went viral across the St. Louis region after a massive 50-foot sinkhole surfaced between the soccer and football fields at Gordon F. Memorial Park in Alton, Illinois. The video would see the sinkhole swallow up a light pole.

Alton Mayor David Goins gave a progress report this week on sinkhole, saying the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) determined the collapse was caused by a build-up of mud and sediment in an old cave.

Justin Kleinschmidt, an engineer with Sheppard, Morgan and Schwaab, says the sinkhole's diameter has grown "more than twice the size" it was originally due to factors like rain and dirt naturally sloughing.

"It’s not getting any bigger underground, is what we’ve been told. But the sloughing of the sides, we expected that to happen," said Kleinschmidt. "It’s going to continue to do that until it gets to a natural point where everything is stable on those edges."

170-feet below the park is a mine operated by New Frontier Materials. The company's CEO Mike Clark says the investigation is ongoing on how it happened, but says the mine so far seems structurally sound and there have been no surprises.

"Our mandate is to conduct an investigation using drilling, geographic studies and engineering science to examine the impacted area and working alongside MSHA, which reviews our reports, to insure they approve of our process and our conclusions," said Clark.

Goins says the park has still remained closed until further notice, but he says he is aware of how much it is affecting the residents and the city's sports tourism, especially since baseball, football and golf is played there.

"The activity of these organizations brings activity to the city, benefitting our restaurants, hotels and other local businesses," said Goins. "The possible reduction of outdoor sports tourism revenue can be a substantial blow economically, particularly affecting our parks and recreational department."

Michael Haynes, the Parks and Recreation Director, promised that it's only going to be a matter of when, not if, the park reopens.

"It’s going to reopen, but we don’t know when," said Haynes.