Knife River to open quarry in Texas

Knife River Corp., the construction materials subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, received permits to begin operating at a new aggregate quarry in Texas.

The quarry contains an estimated 40-year supply of material, enabling Knife River to self-supply a significant portion of the base materials it uses for construction and for the production of ready-mixed concrete and asphalt.

The site will also be open to third-party sales.

The 570-acre property, known as the Honey Creek Quarry, is northwest of Austin in Burnet County, Texas. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality granted Knife River an air quality permit to construct a rock-crushing plant at the quarry.

Knife River expects to begin producing at the site in the third quarter of 2020.

“We purchased this land earlier this year with the strategic goal of being able to supply our own rock to our existing construction operations in Texas,” says David C. Barney, president and CEO of Knife River. “Vertical integration is a key component of Knife River’s business model. When the site is fully functional, we will be able to rail aggregates from Honey Creek to our facilities in Waco, Bryan/College Station and Beaumont. This is a great step forward for our Texas team.”