Part of Webster Co. road closed due to large crack

WEBSTER COUNTY, Ky. (WEHT) A part of a Webster County road, used by hundreds of vehicles a day, is closed after a large crack surfaces on the road.

This has some drivers and people living near the site wondering what caused it.

The part of Kentucky 1340 between Dixon and Clay was closed off just after some drivers noticed a crack just down the road, which some say grew larger in the past 24 hours.

“They can’t fix that overnight,” said Danny Brown, whose farm is next to the cracked road site. Brown says his family first noticed a crack in the road while driving yesterday, starting as a small crack, but becoming larger and going onto his farm along Kentucky 1340.

“Started out as a crack, but now it’s 12 feet wide. It’s going out my field, and it’s about four feet wide out there,” he explained.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet closed that part of the road just east of Kentucky 874 earlier today. About 600 vehicles use the road every day. Engineers were on site to determine the scope of the problem and what caused it. Brown, a farmer who is also a former miner, believes it was caused by mine subsidence.

“I’ve been in the job long enough to know where job sites and strip mines. We’ve run in to it at Peabody, and when we stripped some of their ground, and after the years, you know where it is. There’s nothing here to cause that,” he said.

Kentucky transportation officials say subsidence is one thing they’re looking at. but it’s too early to tell if that was the reason.

“That’s a possibility, but we won’t really know specifically until the geotech folks come down and do some research,” said Keirsten Jaggers of KYTC.

Detours are up in place on both ends of Kentucky 1340. Brown says it’s not a problem now since he already harvested his crops, but could be next spring.

“Planting season, if they don’t get it fixed or drags on, like I think it will, then you’re going to have to take shortcuts, get in here with farm tractors and trucks,” said Brown.

No official word yet on when this part of Kentucky 1340 will be able to be reopen, or when work will start..

(This story was originally published on October 14, 2022)