I-80 sinkhole filled, highway reopens in Wharton, New Jersey
WHARTON, N.J. -- A huge sinkhole on I-80 in New Jersey has been filled and the highway reopened Monday after emergency repairs were made.
The 40-foot sinkhole on I-80 in Wharton had completely shut down the eastbound lanes for nearly four days, but crews worked around the clock to fill it in.
"I want to commend the outstanding efforts of the NJDOT and contractor crews that worked tirelessly to get Interstate 80 reopened quickly and safely for the motoring public," Department of Transportation Commissioner Fran O'Connor said in a statement Monday. "Given the extensive nature of the damage, it is truly remarkable the amount of work that was done in such a short amount of time."
Sinkhole blamed on abandoned mineshaft collapse
The New Jersey Department of Transportation blamed the sinkhole on an abandoned mineshaft that collapsed underneath the highway.
A map on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection website shows the locations of hundreds of abandoned mines across the state, including several in the Wharton area.
Peggy Hicks, of Morris County, said her mother warned her about mineshafts when she was a child.
"She told me about a sinkhole, which they called the bottomless pit. It was an airshaft, and I was always warned not to go anywhere near that," Hicks said. "Makes you wonder where else there's some that could cave in."
After asking the two state agencies who's in charge of ensuring abandoned mineshafts are structurally safe, CBS News New York discovered responsibility lies with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
DEP did not respond to our question and DOT said it was researching the answer.
