Kentucky city asking residents for help pointing out old mines and subsidence

PROVIDENCE, Ky. (WFIE) - The City of Providence is addressing areas of their city impacted by mining and subsidence, and they say they need some help.

Notices went out to residents that the Webster County Fiscal Court and City of Providence are partnering with the Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mine Lands on the Providence Community Project to address problematic areas.

They’re hoping to take a better look at areas of the city that have old mines beneath them and subsidence.

Officials say it’s hardly surprising that they’ve reported issues of large cracks in roads and even a building being constructed falling into an old mine.

The issue, according to Mayor James Hackney, is they know about most of the spots impacted by mining, but not all of them.

”Fourteen that was known about, but what you have to realize is a lot of them mines didn’t have mapping systems that we have today. A lot of it, it was shell mining, and a lot of it was we’re guessing where they’re at,” says Hackney.

Mayor Hackney says they’ll be holding a community meeting on April 4 at the Providence Elementary Gym at 6:00 P.M., where residents can submit their areas of concern.

”They’ve got forms to fill out at this meeting, and the abandoned mines individuals will look at that and go around and look at these areas and make sure it’s not subsidence or if it is subsidence,” says Hackney.

Hackney says bids have already been taken for who will provide slurry, a concrete mix, that’ll be poured into areas with subsidence, hopefully making the community safer for residents and businesses alike.

To see a map of mined areas in Kentucky, look here.

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