The existing quarry reserves of Lehigh Cement’s Union Bridge plant in Maryland, USA, will be depleted by the end of 2020. New reserves have been secured 7km away, near the town of New Windsor. Several options were evaluated to transport the estimated 3.3Mt of limestone from the new quarry to the plant. Ultimately, a continuous belt conveyor with both underground and at-grade sections was selected as the optimum choice. By Kevin Cove, Heidelberg Technology Center, Lehigh Cement Co LLC, USA.
Since the path of the new conveyor runs through agricultural and historic preservation areas across two different Maryland counties, the great challenge for this Lehigh Cement project was to acquire the necessary federal, state, county and municipal approvals. To achieve that goal, community support for the project was critical. As such, the solution relied on an extensive public outreach programme, initiated more than 10 years before any construction permit was received.
