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Debra and I are back home from Indiana. Well, if you’ve been holding your breath about whether or not they’re still making limestone in Indiana, … breathe deep. They are, and there’s lots of just what the Point needs. We visited a number of quarries and our favorite was Reed Quarries Inc where Debby and Steve Reed offered us their time, knowledge and Hoosier hospitality for the large chunk of a day. Reed Quarries is a fourth-generation, family-owned business started in 1927. Of the 38 quarries that once thrived in southern Indiana, only six survive. Southern Indiana's limestone desposit stretches through three counties around Bloomington, is about 400 million years old and full of fossils, and is reputed to be the best limestone deposit in the world. Steve drove us around the quarry and showed us hundreds and hundreds of what are called “breakwater blocks”. These blocks are roughly 2’ x 3-4’ x 6-8’ and match exactly the blocks comprising the Point's revetment. The best breakwater blocks come from the very top layer of the stone formation. These breakwater blocks, however, aren’t good for building material because they are too hard to cut and carve easily, and are not the desired "buff" color. Only about 20% of what is cut out of the the Reed's quarry wall is the desired buff-colored stone used for buildings. The rest are waste blocks like the ones that make up the revetment at the Point. No one wants the gray or varigated colored stone or what's too hard to carve -- unless they want in-kind materials to repair and rehabilitate a 1930's WPA limestone sea wall. Turns out Debby Reed is a member of the Monroe County Historic Preservation Board of Review so she knew right away why our community has worked so long and hard to preserve our limestone revetment. Like us, she loves limestone and she cares about community. Our coastal engineers McLaren Engineering Group tell us the vast majority of the blocks already at the Point (roughly 4,500) are intact and in great conditions, and we would only need a few dozen replacements for broken or badly eroded blocks. What we learned is that the breakwater blocks themselves aren’t expensive but the truck transport is. The price that Reed Quarries Inc. quoted us for a breakwater block plus transport brings the total cost just under $1,000/block -- far less expense than demolition and replacement with concrete per linear foot. Best, Jack Spicer Left: Jack Spicer at Reed Quarries Inc. Right: Steve and Debby Reed Breakwater blocks awaiting use at Reed Quarries, Bloomington, Indiana.
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