Sinkhole appears next to Route 66 west of Galena - KOAM TV 7

A sinkhole has appeared about two feet from Highway 66 west of Galena, Kansas  prompting authorities to block one lane of traffic on Monday.

Officials say it's 10 feet by 12 feet across and about 14 feet deep.

The Kansas Department of Transportation working to determine if the hole could grow larger but say they don't think it will.

Officials say it's from an abandon mine shaft back in the 40's and 50's and while they don't often open next to highways it's not uncommon to find them.

"These sink holes occur around where they had a shaft of some sort coming up out of the mines, an air vent something like that, over periods of time, deterioration in the mine walls, ceilings, start caving in," says George Dockery, a KDOT area engineer.

Once crews have assessed the hole they will start filling it in.