BELLEVILLE, Ill. — An old coal mine in Belleville, Illinois, is causing issues for a local grocery store and has shut down the street next to it for days.
The City of Belleville closed about one block of Queensway Drive where the asphalt has cracked, buckled and even a hole has started to form due to mine subsidence.
Weave and Wobble owner Nicole Shanks says over the last few days she’s watched the street just fall apart.
“They shut the road down. And then I've had students texting me ever since asking if I was still in business. And I am. Everything's fine. But apparently not over there,” Shanks said.
The Belleville Fire Department says they were called out on Sunday to Queensway Drive where the street was cracking and realized it had reached all the way over to Ruler Foods.
Ruler Foods ended up having to close because of it.
“It's unfortunate for the community because Ruler Foods actually is very busy during the evening. So it's been kind of shocking the last 48 hours to watch people come to the store and they weren't aware of it either,” Shanks said.
A Ruler Foods Spokesperson provided this statement to 5 On Your Side, “Ruler Foods continues to work closely with experts and city officials while the store at 1703 N. Belt W, Belleville, IL remains closed until further notice. Customers are encouraged and welcomed to shop at 10850 Lincoln Trail Unit 12B, Fairview Heights, IL and 1984 Vandalia St, Collinsville, IL locations for all their grocery needs.”
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says they were called out on Sunday to investigate and found the mine subsidence is roughly 300 feet in diameter and is still an active subsidence event.
It’s something Belleville business owners have to plan for.
“I know that there are mines in this area because we have to use that under our insurance policies,” Shanks said.
Local realtor for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties John Grissom says this is about the time of year when they start to see subsidies pop up.
“As we have a really dry summer or a summer that's really wet and then really dry and really wet again, you see the ground shifting. And when this happens, these mines, these holes in the ground, the tunnels can cave in,” Grissom said.
Grissom said in his experience they take a while to fix, if they ever do fix the properties.
“Typically, I think it's three years by the state before they'll fix it. They usually come out and put pins down and then measure them and make sure they haven't moved. And when they haven't moved after about three years, that's when they pay you out and recommend that you fix it,” Grissom said.
The IDNR has more resources about mine subsidences here and says they will continue to monitor the event in Belleville.