Route 6 Coal Mine Portal
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In late summer of 1999 the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) received a complaint involving youths partying in the entrance of a coal mine. The portal had been surveyed the winter before for bats and did have some activity. The OSM contracted us to construct a bat friendly gate. The site was remote, so steel was hauled in on day one. Day two (and a long day it was) all equipment was hauled in, steel cut and gate built. Day three consisted of pouring a cement footer, and admiring the beautiful fall foliage. |
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Once the sill beam is in and the verticals are up, production goes into high gear. All brackets were precut and brought onto site ready to weld. With the fall fire hazard being high, minimizing on site cutting and grinding was a priority. All brackets must be ground down to eliminate sharp edges that bats can catch their wings on, this also gives a flush fit for welding. |
Removable bars are our most commonly constructed form of entrance and egress into these sites. On little used sites hinged doors often rust shut. |
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Lowering cement down to the entrance. |
The finished gate. The area in front of the gate was mulched, fertilized, and seeded. All trails into the site were restored to their prior condition. |
