New Martin Marietta quarry represents record investment

Martin Marietta held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of a $158 million, rail-connected limestone quarry in Hondo, Texas.

According to Martin Marietta, the site, known as Medina Rock & Rail, is the company’s largest capital investment to date.

Before opening the grounds for an inaugural tour, Ward Nye, chairman, president and CEO, praised those involved in the project for maintaining Martin Marietta’s commitment to safety.

“We started this project with the view that no one was going to get hurt, and we ended this project with the view that no one was going to get hurt,” Nye says. “We worked to control behaviors and made sure ours were not empty words. When we talk about safety, we mean it and we live it.”

Larry Roberts, Southwest Division president, says he was excited to see an idea conceived more than a decade ago come to fruition.

“Medina Quarry not only provides the stone required today, it establishes a strong growth foundation for our future business,” he says.

According to the company, more than 14,000 cu. yd. of concrete were used in the site’s construction. Its rail spur is 57,300 track feet long. Also, the site features 59 conveyors, 17 screens, five crushers and a state-of-the-art automated rail-loading system that can fully load trains of 120-ton cars at 3,500 tph.

Although the ribbon cutting was held in April, the site has been in operation since Jan. 1, 2016. The operation is currently producing about 500,000 tons of material each month.