Mine Subsidence Repairs Close Illinois Route 185 for About Six Weeks

Article Summary: Illinois Route 185 closed this week for repairs to mine subsidence damage and will remain closed for approximately six weeks, with traffic detoured onto county highways, the Montgomery County Board Roads & Bridges Committee was told Aug. 5. Repair costs for any damage to county roads will be submitted to Hillsboro Energy once the Route 185 work is finished.

Route 185 Mine Subsidence Closure Key Points:

The closure began the week of the Aug. 5 meeting and is expected to last roughly six weeks, according to Committee Chair Ethan Murzynski.

Traffic is being detoured onto county highways under a Detour Agreement dated Oct. 11, 2022, which the committee reviewed along with a $3 million bond.

Costs to repair any resulting damage to county roads will be submitted to Hillsboro Energy after the Route 185 repair is complete.

Committee member Evan Young separately raised subsidence-related damage on township roads identified in the minutes as 14th and 7th.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Illinois Route 185 has closed for repairs to damage from mine subsidence and is expected to remain closed for approximately six weeks, with traffic detoured onto county highways, the Montgomery County Board Roads & Bridges Committee was told at its meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the Montgomery County Highway Department in Hillsboro.

Committee Chair Ethan Murzynski reported that the closure began the week of the meeting. The minutes do not record the limits of the closure, the specific date it began, the contractor performing the work, or which detour routes county highway users should expect.

Mine subsidence generally refers to the sinking or settling of ground above underground mine workings, which can damage roads, utilities and structures at the surface.

Costs to Be Submitted After Repairs Are Complete

The committee reviewed a Detour Agreement in place from Oct. 11, 2022, along with a $3 million bond, according to the minutes. Road repair costs for any damage to county roads will be submitted to Hillsboro Energy after the Route 185 repair is complete.

The minutes do not identify the parties to the 2022 Detour Agreement, who posted the $3 million bond, or what the bond secures. They also do not state Hillsboro Energy’s role in the Route 185 work or in the subsidence itself — only that repair costs will be submitted to that company once the highway work is finished. The agreement itself, which predates the current closure by nearly four years, is not reproduced in the minutes.

No motion was taken on the closure, the agreement or the bond. The item was recorded under Other Business, and the committee’s agenda listed no items under its standing “Update/Approval” heading.

Township Roads Also Cited

Committee member Evan Young addressed the condition of township roads identified in the minutes as 14th and 7th, which he said need repairs due to mine subsidence. The minutes do not name the township or townships in which those roads sit, do not describe the extent of the damage, and record no estimated cost, no proposed funding source and no motion.

Vice Chair Dr. Patty Whitworth separately addressed the poor condition of Illinois Route 16 between Hillsboro and Litchfield and between Irving and Ohlman. The minutes record no action on that item either.

As a standing committee, Roads & Bridges makes recommendations to the full Montgomery County Board; it does not enact them. Nothing discussed at the Aug. 5 meeting binds the county, obligates any funds or commits any party to a repair schedule unless and until the full board acts.

The committee’s only recorded votes were a motion to pay the bills, made by Whitworth and seconded by Rob Corso, and a motion to adjourn by Keith Hancock, seconded by Whitworth. Both passed with all members in favor.

Present were Corso, Whitworth, Young, Hancock, Murzynski and Doug Donaldson. Cody Gudgel was absent. County Board Administrator Mike Plunkett also attended. The meeting adjourned at 8:52 a.m., 22 minutes after it was called for 8:30 a.m.