Walker Industries executive vice-president Ken Lucyshyn said a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Duntroon quarry Oct. 22 was in celebration of being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel after a 13-year fight to expand.
More than 100 people – company officials, dignitaries, closest neighbours, consultants, board members and members of the Walker family – attended the ribbon-cutting to put closure to the lengthy process, he said.
The expansion project started in 2002.
“We went through all the applications and we went through a 139-day joint board hearing and then the decision was challenged in a judiciary review and upheld,” said Lucyshyn. “Part of the conditions of the licence is that we had to do some roadwork on County Road 91, 10th Concession and 26/27 Sideroad. However, in the meantime, that has been bogged down in process and we are getting very low on rock. We want to get some rock to process through the wintertime so we decided this year to build a temporary tunnel under 91 since we couldn’t close 91 until 26/27 was constructed.”
Walker Industries will begin bringing material from the expansion quarry by truck under the road to the processing plant once the tunnel is complete in three or four weeks. It is 85 metres long, 10 metres wide and once complete, it will be nine metres high.
Lucyshyn said the expansion has secured jobs for the quarry’s employees.
“At the end of this year, we probably would have lost 25-30 jobs,” he said adding, by their calculations, counting the spin-off jobs, that number is probably more than 150.
“We are extremely happy. It has been a long process and I am delighted for all the stakeholders and mainly our employees. There is finally some certainty in their lives. Those 25 people lived a life where they didn’t know if they were going to have a job or not so we are happy that their employment will continue and they have well paid jobs.
Once the necessary roadwork is complete, the tunnel will be closed. A portion of County Road 91 will still close after the upgrades are complete, said Lucyshyn, but he doesn’t know when.
The roadwork is in the hands of the township.
Clearview Township has an application before the Niagara Escarpment Commission for a development permit to upgrade the two municipal roads (Concession 10 and 26/27 Sideroad) as part of the agreement for the quarry expansion.
The permit is required as a result of a change in legislation that came into effect after the hearing board ruled on the quarry. Clearview is attempting to get an exemption in order to avoid a second public input process.
Walker Industries is paying $7.5 million for the road improvements and the County of Simcoe is paying $2 million as per an agreement to transfer the road to the township.
Area residents continue to oppose the eventual closure of County Road 91 between Grey Road 31 and the 10th Sideroad Nottawasaga, saying it cuts off a main route between the two counties.