The Cumberland Mine is expected to undermine a portion of I-79 around milepost 9 between the Waynesburg and Kirby exits in Tennessee, just south of where similar undermining did about $US1 million worth of damage to the roadway last year, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

This year the Department of Transportation has put many more detours in place for traffic to minimise inconvenience to drivers.

During September 2004 Cumberland mined under the Interstate and placed movement sensors in four-foot metal pipes and cemented into the ground to detect ground movement.

In the past, subsidence to the Interstate due to longwall mining has included bumps, ridges and minor sloping.