Stoneco lays out plans for expansion

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP - Stoneco limestone quarry, 6334 Karch Road, has its sights set on extending mining operations to the west, according to vice president Chris Pike.

Pike laid out the company's intentions during a contentious road vacation hearing held by Mercer County commissioners on Tuesday. Plans call for developing new mining operations on company-owned land on the west side of Karch Road.

To facilitate that expansion, company officials have requested the vacation of parts of Karch Road and part of Swamp Road to the northwest of the quarry in the event the company in the future decides to mine company-owned land there, too.

Permits to mine west of Karch Road have already been secured from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Pike said.

"Everything has been permitted with ODNR … with the exception of this location just north of Swamp Road," Pike said. "The reason for vacating Karch Road is to access reserves basically across the street. And by doing that, we're able to extend the mine life to 35 years, which is basically an additional five years, by vacating Karch Road."

Sight-and-sound barriers would be erected and trees planted near new mining areas, he said.

If the request is approved, Karch Road would be vacated from near the intersection of Monroe Road north to the Stoneco plant, Pike said.

"The plan is to … basically continue that berm that we have along Monroe Road in our existing quarry and then putting up a gate basically right by our site," he said.

Swamp College Cemetery and Beaver Chapel would remain accessible by parts of Karch and Swamp roads left intact after the vacations, Pike said. The rest of Karch Road from the Swamp Road intersection to the plant would be maintained and widened.

"This (will) still be an access drive for the public as well as our trucks and to the church. We plan on widening that road by four feet and overlaying it with fresh asphalt, and we will maintain that road," he said "So that will be our responsibility."

Pike said the company also plans to replace a bridge on nearby Burkettsville-St. Henry Road.

"In order to mitigate flooding issues that are in that surrounding area we plan on replacing the bridge and raising it up by three feet and also approaches leading up to the bridge, raising that up by approximately three feet," he said. "The reason that we need to replace the bridge is we need to provide a larger opening. So it's going to increase by 20 feet, that span, to accommodate that 100-year flood event."

The project would ensure an economical source of department of transportation stone and construction specific materials to surrounding communities, retain jobs and possibly even create jobs, Pike said.

"From a public welfare and convenience standpoint, basically we're going to have reduced road maintenance for the county because we're going to be taking care of Karch Road now - and part of Swamp Road," he pointed out.

The company has already invested in its plant to accommodate new mining activity.

"Along with this we've already started phase one as part of our plant replacement and we're looking at doing phase two," he said.

Company officials prefer to expand mining operations by vacating the roads.

"It creates a safer, economical (process) by minimizing interactions between public and quarry-related operations," he said.

However, should the road vacation request be denied, company officials would consider other options, such as tunneling under the road. But this option could put employees at risk, Pike said.