A geotechnical engineering expert said there is nothing to worry about
when it comes to the abandoned mine shafts below the future site of a
Johnston, Iowa, elementary school. "It's not that unusual a situation," said Milton Butzke from Allender Butzke Engineers Inc. About
780 acres of mine shaft stretch from the proposed 26-acre school site
to areas further south and west. The mine — Norwood White Mine No. 8 —
was known to exist when the land was purchased for around $870,000 in
June.
The expert says there are "billions of dollars of real estate built over mine shafts" across Iowa. In fact, a segment of the Norwood mine runs under Iowa Highway 141. Norwood is just one of 222 coal mines that Butzke documented as being in operation across the Des Moines area from the 1840s to 1947, and no moratorium has ever been put in place for building on top of them. About 44 percent of the mines, including Norwood and most of the larger mines once in operation across the Des Moines area, have detailed records of where the mine shafts and tunnels are located. According to an Iowa Department of Natural Resources' geological survey, at least 5,500 underground mines have operated in Iowa and cover nearly 15,000 acres.
Excerpted from DesMoinesRegister.com.
The expert says there are "billions of dollars of real estate built over mine shafts" across Iowa. In fact, a segment of the Norwood mine runs under Iowa Highway 141. Norwood is just one of 222 coal mines that Butzke documented as being in operation across the Des Moines area from the 1840s to 1947, and no moratorium has ever been put in place for building on top of them. About 44 percent of the mines, including Norwood and most of the larger mines once in operation across the Des Moines area, have detailed records of where the mine shafts and tunnels are located. According to an Iowa Department of Natural Resources' geological survey, at least 5,500 underground mines have operated in Iowa and cover nearly 15,000 acres.
Excerpted from DesMoinesRegister.com.
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