After more than 15 years of disuse, Hornsby Quarry, located west of the Hornsby town centre in New South Wales, is set to receive its first delivery of spoil in October this year.
NSW Minister for Planning Rob Stokes approved the Hornsby Quarry Construction Spoil Management Project in January 2016. As previously reported by Quarry, the project involves transporting up to 1.5 million m3 of excavated material from Sydney’s 9km NorthConnex motorway tunnelling project to the inactive quarry site to raise its floor to a level safe for rehabilitation.
Hornsby Quarry was established in the early 1900s. It was operated by CSR Construction Materials from 1959 but ceased operations in the late 1990s and was later acquired by Hornsby Shire Council in 2002.
For years, the council deliberated on how to reclaim the quarry, with past proposals including construction of a state of the art sports facility hub and the building of a skyscraper in the base of the pit.
Finally, in October 2014, the council unanimously agreed to redevelop the site into a recreational space. The proposed parklands would offer outdoor adventure activities such as zip-lining, rope climbing and abseiling to help attract visitors to the region while also providing an ongoing financial return.
Road upgrades will begin in June in order to accommodate the increased truck movements from the spoil management project. Spoil haulage will begin from October and is expected to take up to 28 months.
“Its going to take a while but at least it’s got a start,” Hornsby mayor Steve Russell told The Sydney Morning Herald.
The filling of the quarry is scheduled to reach completion by the end of 2018.
More reading
Geologists lobby to preserve quarry rock formation
EIS released for quarry spoil management project
Major contract awarded to quarry supplier
Spoil deal to transform quarry in six years
Local, state, federal govts team up for quarry rehab
Adventure experiences touted for disused quarry