Mine subsidence closes road

Staff report

PETERSBURG

A portion of State Line Road has been closed to traffic because its pavement has buckled and cracked due to mine subsidence, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has announced.

The closure is about 1,500 feet north of Pennsylvania Route 108, and traffic is being detoured over Columbiana Road and Route 108, with detour signs posted, PennDOT said.

The mine is a closed limestone mine owned by the East Fairfield Coal Co., said Neil Shader, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

The road, whose western side is a Mahoning County road, forms the boundary between Springfield Township, Mahoning County, and North Beaver Township, Lawrence County, Pa.

The closed section of State Line Road is maintained by Pennsylvania, said Kristin Barrett, public information officer for the Mahoning County Engineer’s Office.

East Fairfield, which conducts underground limestone mining in the area, was boring at the road closure site Tuesday to determine the depth of the mine in that area, she said.

“The subsidence is on the Pennsylvania side of the mine,” said Bethany McCorkle, deputy director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

“ODNR will send a mine safety inspector to the site [today] to investigate and ensure nothing has been affected on the Ohio side,” she said.

East Fairfield is working with Pennsylvania officials regarding stabilization of the mine, she added.

East Fairfield officials could not be reached to comment.