Some of the ruins still visible at Winton. A new Abandon Mine Lands project will occur near the ghost town to mitigate a drainage channel.
Residents driving near the abandoned towns of Winton and Dines may notice work and permanent road diversion leading towards Winton next year.
According to Robert Thoman, a consultant with BRS Engineering in Riverton, the channel near Winton will be the site of an Abandoned Mine Lands project focused on correcting and naturalizing the channel. During its heyday, Winton was one of the many towns that sprung up as a result of coal mining activity in Sweetwater County. The coal fueled Union Pacific locomotives until the years after World War II, when the company shifted from coal to diesel-fueled engines. As a result, some of the towns became deserted while others, such as Superior and Reliance, primarily became residential areas.
The project is one of the lower-tiered projects capable of being funded through AML money. In Rock Springs, AML funds are primarily used to fill mine voids under residential and commercial properties throughout the older portions of the city. Such work was needed when a void opened up at the former Rock Springs National Bank Building, which the county purchased and plans to utilize as a health and human services facility.
The length of the channel is roughly 3.6 miles, with 1.4 miles being within the Bureau of Land Management's jurisdiction. A man-made channel was dug initially to divert water from rail lines leading to the Winton mines. However, the channel has opened up during the past 50 years and now runs along the county road leading to the ghost town. This creates a safety hazard for people as portions of the road, along with other sections of land near the channel, now have sudden drop offs encroaching upon them. One such drop follows much of the road that continues past the county road leading to the Stansbury mine. Another goal for the project is to preserve many of the historical features found along the channel, which include wooden culverts initially installed.
Plans include building a spur from the Superior cutoff road on the other side of the channel to the road leading towards Dines and Winton, closing off a portion of the original road leading to the abandoned towns. Dines would still be accessible, but only after turning at the fork where Winton Road and the Superior cutoff road meet. An additional benefit for the project is the replacement of the wooden bridge on Winton Road that would lead to the Superior cutoff spur.
Commissioner Wally Johnson said he is happy to see AML funding go to AML projects in Wyoming; not University of Wyoming construction projects, a use the Wyoming Legislature previously marked AML money the state received from the federal government.
"This is what AML funds are for," Commissioner John Kolb said.
Reader Comments(0)