Renton Road To Close For Coal Mine Sinkhole Repair

RENTON, WA — A sinkhole that opened in front of Talbot Hill Elementary last summer will be repaired beginning this month, but that will require a stretch of road in front of the school to close for about 30 days.

The sinkhole appeared along South 23rd Street last August and is due to an old coal mine located in the area. The federal Office of Surface Mines will handle the fix, which will require South 23rd to close between Talbot Road and Morris Avenue for about a month beginning on July 23.

"Reclamation work generally consists of vertical drilling beneath the asphalt paved roadway, followed by compaction and permeation grouting to densify soils and reduce the volume of

potential voids that may be present beneath the ground surface," city officials said describing the work that will be done.

The school itself is not in danger, officials have said. When Talbot Hill was built in 1997, the school district hired a firm to check the area for vulnerabilities related to old mines. There were several coal mines operating in the Talbot Hill area around 1920, according to state Department of Natural Resources maps.

The City Council will vote on closing South 23rd for sinkhole repair at its July 15 meeting.