Neighbors concerned about traffic, blasting at proposed Unity limestone quarry

Nearby Unity residents let Hanson Aggregates know they’re concerned about the heavy truck traffic and blasting that would be associated with a limestone quarry the company hopes to develop.

The Connellsville company is seeking township approval of a site development plan as well as state permits for operating on underground quarry on 500 acres along Quarry Road, which would be located across the road from one it shuttered in 2015.

Company officials estimate construction of the Whitney North Mine could begin as early as 2022, depending on the permitting process. The quarry is expected to be open more than 40 years.

Jason Mignogna, who lives off Route 982 just north of Quarry Road, said vehicles already speed along 982 and he worries additional quarry traffic will increase the hazard for his family and neighbors. He said it is already difficult for his family to safely pull their vehicles onto the highway.

“It’s dangerous now without having to worry about trying to get out in front of a tri-axle (truck),” Mignogna said Thursday during a township supervisors meeting. “I have a 17-year-old daughter who drives and a 13-year-old son who’s going to be driving. That’s a concern I have for my safety, my wife’s safety, my kids’ safety on our bend where our road is.

“Even now, there’s cars that go way too fast.”

About 200 trucks per day are expected to travel to and from the quarry, according to Ronald T. Kurpiel, Hanson vice president and general manager. Kurpiel said the company, which operates other quarries near Torrance in Derry Township and in Bullskin and Connellsville townships in Fayette County, follows up on complaints about trucks servicing the quarry.

While noting, “we can’t control them once they leave our site,” he said, “We’re not bashful about calling our customers, if it’s their truck, or calling our haulers. We’ll take any complaints to the proper people.”

With local quarry operations shut down for the past five years, “it’s going to be different,” Supervisor Mike O’Barto said. “There’s going to be traffic. We can’t deny that.”

Mignogna also expressed concern about the potential effects of blasting on his animals and on his family’s well water. “We have horses, we have goats, we have dogs, we have cats,” he said.

John Zimmerman, who lives farther up the ridge from the quarry site, at the Cook Township line on Piper Gross Road, said his windows often were rattled by blasting during Hanson’s past operations.

“Maybe I should be saving my money for a seismograph,” he said.

Hanson officials said they are required by state law to offer pre-blasting surveys of residents’ property conditions, by a third party contractor, within a radius of 1,000 feet. Kurpiel indicated he would consider requests for surveys from residents beyond that limit.

He noted Hanson has placed seismographs to monitor ground vibrations around its quarry operations and state environmental officials independently have placed such devices.

According to Hanson, surface blasting would occur during initial development of the quarry — between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., two or three times per week, over about 18 months. Underground blasting, part of the ongoing room-and-pillar mining operation, typically would occur between noon and 5 p.m. weekdays.

Underground blasting should be less noticeable on nearby properties, Kurpiel said. He said Hanson is willing to call neighbors with an advance warning of blasting.

Hanson plans to develop a quarry portal and a stone crusher on the north side of Quarry Road. A conveyor installed under the road would move stone to the former quarry site for processing and customer loading.

That would hold down the number of trucks that need to cross Quarry Road once initial development is complete, said R. Danell Zawaski, environmental manager for Hanson. A temporary road would be constructed to allow traffic to bypass a portion of Quarry Road that would be closed during construction.

The quarry is expected to employ about 50 people, working two shifts beginning around 5 a.m.

There will be additional opportunities for public comment as plans progress, Kurpiel said.

Hanson’s original operation on Quarry Road closed after a partial collapse in April 2015 that injured three employees outside the entrance. Blasting resumed as part of a 2017 plan to reclaim the closed mine.