Work Set to Begin to Fill Colorado Sinkhole Over Old Mine Shaft

Work to fill a sinkhole that opened up over an old mine shaft, nearly swallowing an SUV, is set to begin in Lafayette, Colorado.

Crews plan to start work Wednesday and have the 15-foot-deep hole filled by the end of the week. However, the Daily Camera reports that filling in the mine shaft from the bottom up with a concrete-like mixture likely won’t be done for several months.

A man driving an SUV before dawn on Monday said he was driving through what he thought was a pothole when he felt the asphalt suddenly collapse around him. The SUV hung on to the edge of the hole and the driver was rescued.

The street and surrounding neighborhood are built above a coal mine which closed in 1927.