Remediation of Abandoned Underground Mine Working Beneath a Transportation Corridor: State Route 2 – Ottawa County, Ohio Paul Painter – ODOT Office of Geotechnical Engineering

Remediation of Abandoned Underground Mine Working Beneath a Transportation Corridor: State Route 2 – Ottawa County, Ohio

Paul Painter – ODOT Office of Geotechnical Engineering

 

This talk will present ODOT work to remediate an abandoned gypsum mine located beneath the State Route 2 roadway in Ottawa County, Ohio. The mine had to be remediated with larger than normal voids.

Abstract: Industrial mineral gypsum has actively been extracted within the Sandusky Bay region since 1822. One of the larger producers of gypsum was United States Gypsum who operated underground mines until the late 1970’s when these workings flooded. The resulting workings left significant abandoned voids which extended beneath and beyond Ohio State Route 2, which is a major transportation corridor within the region. Beginning in late 2004, sinkhole formations were noted adjacent to the roadway corridor leading ODOT to begin evaluation of these conditions due to concerns for the safety of the traveling public. Loss of roof support of these mine workings were determined to be the root cause of the sinkhole formation. This required ODOT to develop a plan to maintain support of the roadway.  Starting in 2013, ODOT began a mine grouting program to fill the underground mine voids and stabilize the ground supporting the roadway. The two-year, $20.6 million dollar construction program was successful in creating stable support of the roadway to ensure the safety of the traveling public.

 

Paul Painter: Paul is the Geology Program Manager and Assistant Administrator for ODOT’s Office of Geotechnical Engineering overseeing the Field Exploration and geotechnical laboratory section. While at ODOT Paul has helped develop and oversee ODOT’s geohazard inventory, designed geohazard repairs for rock slopes, landslides, and underground mines as well as designed and reviewed roadway designs.  Prior to joining ODOT in 2005, Paul was in consulting for 13 years working on environmental, mining, residential and commercial development, and heavy infrastructure work such as highway, dams, and tunnels. Paul holds a BS in Geological Sciences from Wright State University and a Master of Science in Geology from Ohio University and is a licensed Professional Geologist in Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania.