Watch documentary (video)
When MoDOT was contacted to assist some spelunkers and the Missouri Department of Conservation in cleaning up a cave, the decision was easy. “It’s not just because MoDOT is a ‘greener’ organization, it’s because it was the right thing to do,” said Assistant District Engineer Dave Silvester. Alan Leary, a senior environmental specialist for MoDOT, was contacted by a group of cavers who were familiar with the cave and all of the junk that had accumulated in it. This cave not only has beautiful formations of stalactites and stalagmites, but is also home to a rare bat known as the gray bat.
“It didn’t appear the junk had been tossed into the cave,” Alan said. Rather, a nearby sinkhole more than likely was the source for the junk, which included a refrigerator, tires, a washing machine, and old chairs, to name a few.
“Because of the rare bats, the group wanted to try to protect the cave’s location, so they didn’t want a lot of publicity,” Alan explained. However, MoDOT’s multimedia department and the district’s community relations team decided to video some of the clean up to create a sort of “documentary” to show the inside of the cave to the public.
Along with Alan, representatives from MDC were inside the cave, assisting the cavers with cleanup. Roy Niemeyer, Frankford maintenance supervisor, Danny Behl, Senior Traffic Specialist, and Rick Domzalski, transportation project manager, also helped.
