An interesting thread, but not accurate.....
First off, some needed background. The genesis of this project actually began in the mid 1990. The proposed "new interchange" was supposed to make Chimney Rock Road the main
heavy truck access road for all various Somerset County public works projects which were being built, or proposed, off Chimney Rock Road and Polhemus Lane ( BRI Transfer Station / Somerset County's Recycling Center / The County-owned baseball stadium / etc. ) It was envisioned by Somerset County planning officials as a complimentary public project originally envisioned to support not only the County's projects, but to also spur development along the entire corridor of the Middlebrook branch corridor. It took nearly 20 years to bring the project to fruition.
While I could give a very long and drawn out history of this project, I'll instead try to keep this brief...
The main reason the newly constructed track looks like it does can be summed up in three words..... "Location, Location, Location"
The reason why the tracks have not been extended into the quarry is simple.... When the project was first designed and budgeted for, the loading of the rail cars was done at the "end of the tracks" in the precise location where the state just rebuilt the tracks. The State rebuilt the railroad has the railroad existed and was being used in the mid-1990's..... From the start of the planning process, to the completion of the project, the rail portion of this project has remained the same for the past 20 years.
When this project began, ..... the land adjacent to the railroad was a former industrial site: Houdaille Industries. The manufacturer made roofing materials, such as shingles and other products at that location.
Immediately adjacent to the former roofing plant was a concrete batch plant (leased in the 1980's and 1990's to Weldon Concrete).
A little further down the line was the original "crushers" for the rock quarry. The track actually extended all the way into the main portion of the quarry ending not too far from the middle of the quarry "pit". Today, the former crusher location is now the Somerset County Joint Public works facility for Bridgewater and Bound Brook.
Beginning with the relocation of the crushers, the relocation of the quarry's access road, the closure and removal of the former concrete plant, the rail line was chopped back to the approximate location of the end of "railroad owned" property. Since the quarry owners owned all the various parcels, it was treated as "one very large lot" by Stavola for years. (Note: The Stavola's acquired the quarry from Houdaille when the later went bankrupt many years ago.)
So, in the mid 1990's, when the project began, the tracks ended at the end of the railroad owned property adjacent to the site of the former roofing plant. The Houdaille owned tracks in the Quarry having been previously removed. So, when the plan was designed, the planning for the new interchange
only took into account that which existed at the time. The planners assumed that the Quarry would still receive service from off of the former roofing plant site.
However, the now virtually completed projected has created a new "economic situation" governing the surrounding real estate at the new "full interchange" ..... It has made the land surrounding the line far more valuable. Stavola Industries, the parent company for the quarry, realized that the near highway location (where they were loading the cars) at the new interchange would become far more valuable after the construction was completed. When the County planners needed to reroute Frontier Road to accommodate the new on ramps to I-287, Stavola sought the rerouting of the road in such a manner that would produce a large parcel near the highway which would be capable of being developed.
When one looks at this aerial photo..... it becomes obvious why Frontier road was rerouted the way it was..... It was strictly to support redevelopment of the former Houdaille plant site.... See Google maps:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5763278 ... !1e3?hl=en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The
quid pro quo becomes obvious..... In exchange for the development concession, a grade crossing (which actually did exist at the time) would get "rebuilt". So as to not impact the construction schedule, the extension back into the Quarry would be done by Stavola (or so I've been told by County officials). So, that is why it looks pretty obvious why loading is not going to be done on former loading site..... Loading WILL NOT be done at that site....
And not surprisingly, Whole Foods is now seeking Bridgewater Township approval for a new store on that site.
As for getting the track back into the quarry, ..... That battle is just beginning.... Until the highway project is "finished", the Federal Highway Administration is still subsidizing the cost of the trucking material over to the temporary trans-load location in Finderne. That subsidy will end this year. The contractor will be done in the next couple of weeks, and the job will be closed out. At that point, the financial "pinch" of not having a load out near the quarry will begin to be felt.
So, stay tuned, this project is far from over......
