There's nothing pretty about most rock quarries.
Which makes it all the more amazing to stand in the pit of the old Houdaille Quarry in Springfield and see how the scars gouged into the earth have healed. - See Newspaper Photo >
Wildflowers, shrubs and grasses now cover the bottom of the once barren quarry pit, along with trees that have taken hold. It all looks so natural that visitors might not realize that what initially appears to be a rocky cliff is man-made. It's the old quarry wall.
Located near Route 78, the quarry is normally off limits to the public, but not this afternoon. The Springfield Environmental Commission is holding its annual tours of the site.
From 1 to 3 p.m., members of the commission will lead groups through the old quarry, which will be accessible today through the Mountain View Road entrance, about a mile west of Shunpike Road. The Union County Model Airplane Club will also be on hand, giving demonstrations of aerial acrobatics,
Faith Brancato, a member of the township environmental commission, will be one of those leading the tours. The less rigorous of the walks will take visitors to a vantage point where they will be able to look down into the quarry. The other route, considered to be "moderately strenuous," will be a two-mile walk down to a pond, and then over to the bottom of the quarry pit.
On a recent afternoon, Brancato hiked the route in advance of today's tours.Red-tailed hawks circled overhead, in search of prey, and while there were no deer visible, several
beds could be seen in the grassy fields, where they had spent the night.
And there was one time, Brancato said, when she caught a glimpse of a coyote at the site.
If it weren't for the sounds of the highway traffic on Route 78, there's almost no sense of any civilization nearby. But even those sounds tend to diminish on the way into the quarry basin.
While today's tours offer but a brief glimpse of the property, the Union County parks staff is working on a plan that would eventually open the site permanently. A proposed three-mile trail would pass through the most scenic areas.
Last December, the county applied for a $25,000 federal recreation trails grant that would have gone toward installing several bridges, protective barriers and other safety improvements, said Charles Sigmund, county parks and recreation director.
However, the application was turned down a few weeks ago.
Sigmund said the safety improvements are necessary. Otherwise, he said, it would be "difficult to allow the public complete access."
Other sources of funding will be explored, he said, noting that the county may reapply for the grant.
Once funding is in place, the actual work could probably be completed in three to six months, Sigmund said.
"I would like it open as soon as possible," he said.
It's been at least 30 years since the quarry was in operation, Brancato said. The basalt mined there would be crushed to produce gravel for roads and asphalt.
The site was sold to the state during the building of Route 78. The quarry provided a convenient place to dump rock and soil that was excavated when the last portion of the interstate was carved through the northern edge of the Watchung Reservation.
A portion of the site is now used for composting, while another section serves as a target range for area police officers.
Gabriel H. Gluck covers Springfield. He can be reached at (908) 302-1506 or ggluck@starledger.com.