(Host) A Barre granite company has won a contract to sell thousands of tons of waste rock to the federal government.
As VPR’s Ross Sneyd reports, the contract promises a business boost for central Vermont, and possibly some traffic hassles.
(Sneyd) Massive piles of rock dot the landscape around the granite quarries in Barre.
They’re made up of chunks of granite that, for one reason or another, didn’t pass muster as a headstone or monument.
The industry figures there’s 40 million tons of the stuff left over from the decades that the quarries have operated.
But now, stimulus money is creating a demand for the venerable stone.
Darren Winham is with the Barre Area Development Corporation, and he explains.
(Winham) "This particular project would see this granite go down in big chunks, waste granite, to Lake Okeechobee, Florida, for the Herbert Hoover dike system as an armor rock. The quality of the granite is such that it is very desirable for the folks down there."
(Sneyd) The Army Corps of Engineers is buying 54,000 tons with money from last year’s federal stimulus bill.
The granite will be shipped by rail. But that’s caused concern among some central Vermont political leaders.
That’s because the rail line from the granite quarries runs through the edge of downtown Barre and directly through downtown Montpelier.
That line hasn’t been used much in years. In some cases, it’s become as much a sidewalk and even parking space as a railroad.
Winham says everyone involved understands.
(Winham) "The rail does run by the Spaulding High School in Barre and the Montpelier High School in Montpelier. So there’s certainly some safety concerns for people who aren’t used to having trains going through their towns. And that’s very legitimate concern."
(Sneyd) The companies involved plan a public outreach campaign in the next few weeks to let people know that the line is going to be active again. The first shipments are expected by the end of May or beginning of June.
Plans call for a train hauling five cars to run four times a day through Barre. Ten-car trains will run twice a day through Montpelier.
Officials say they hope the granite shipments will encourage other businesses to take advantage of the rail line now that it’ll be running again.
For VPR News, I’m Ross Sneyd