For Hanover County residents opposing Luck Stone’s proposed quarry on Verdon Road, the company’s broader strategy is becoming alarmingly clear.  The proposed Hanover quarry is only about five miles north of Luck Stone’s proposed 1,100-acre Carmel Technology & Enterprise Center at Jericho Road and Route 1 in Caroline County.

Luck Stone is proposing entrances to that massive industrial development from both Jericho Road and  Route 1. Regarding the Route 1 entrance, Luck Stone claims VDOT will install a traffic signal “when warranted.”  Hanover residents know how little comfort that promise provides.

Our community has been waiting 30 years for a traffic signal at Route 30 and Route 1. “When warranted” does not mean before the trucks arrive, or before congestion becomes dangerous. It can mean years—or decades—of residents dealing with the consequences while waiting for the state to determine that conditions have finally become "bad enough."

Connecting the Dots: A Pipeline of Dump Trucks

Consider the connection between these two projects: a massive new quarry in Hanover and a massive industrial development only five miles away. A development of this size will require decades of stone, aggregate, asphalt, concrete, and fill.

Think about the endless trains of dump trucks we saw for months when construction began at Beaverdam Elementary. Now imagine that kind of traffic continuing for years as more than 1,100 acres are graded and developed.

How would those trucks travel?

Would they travel Verdon toward Route 1 and enter the industrial development from Route 1 without a traffic signal?
Or would they take the shorter route along Verdon Road, Hewlett Road, and Jericho Road to avoid left turns?
Hewlett, Verdon and Jericho are narrow rural roads, not an industrial dump-truck corridor.

The True Cost to Hanover County

This is exactly why Hanover County must stop treating the Verdon Road quarry as an isolated land-use application. Industrial developments do not keep their impacts inside the lines drawn on a site plan. The impacts spread throughout the community.

The proposed quarry threatens:

Our Homes: Families face years of noise, blasting, truck traffic, dust, declining quality of life, and the destruction of property values.
Our Health: Residents would be exposed to industrial noise, diesel exhaust, silica particles, heavy truck traffic, and the immense stress of living beside a major mining operation.
Our Community: Rural roads and quiet neighborhoods would become part of an industrial transportation network serving Luck Stone on both sides of the county line.
Our Water: Quarry excavation and dewatering risk destroying private wells, groundwater, wetlands, streams, and the Little River. These risks have been ignored.
Take Action Now  We are asking every member of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors to stand with the citizens they were elected to represent.  Support clean water. Support safe roads. Protect our homes, our health, and our rural community.  The risks are real and serious, and the permanent industrial impacts cannot be undone. Deny Luck Stone’s quarry application.

CONTACT OUR BOARD AND EXPRESS THE RISK AND NEED FOR DENIAL:  BELOW ARE SAMPLE EMAIL AND PHONE CALL SCRIPTS.

PHONE CALL:

"Hi, my name is [Your Name] and I live at [Your Address].

I am calling to urge Supervisor [Last Name] to vote NO on the proposed Luck Stone quarry on Verdon Road.

When you look at Luck Stone’s proposed 1,100-acre industrial development just five miles away in Caroline County, it's clear this quarry isn't an isolated project. We cannot allow rural, 17-foot-wide roads like Hewlett Road to become an industrial dump-truck corridor for decades to come.

This project threatens our safety, our well water, and our homes. I expect the Supervisor to stand with the residents they represent and deny this application.

Can you tell me if the Supervisor currently plans to oppose this project?"

EMAIL:

Dear Members of the Board of Supervisors,

My name is [Your Name] and I reside at [Your Address]. I am writing to you today to formally express my strong opposition to the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and Special Exception (SE) submitted by Luck Stone for the proposed quarry on Verdon Road.

This application cannot be viewed in isolation. When considering the 1,100-acre industrial development just a few miles away in Caroline County, it is clear that approving this quarry will subject our rural community to decades of continuous industrial dump truck traffic.

Our local infrastructure is entirely unequipped for this. Roads like Hewlett Road, which is only about 17 feet wide, do not meet the VDOT road width standards necessary to serve as an industrial dump-truck corridor. The road and water impacts of a massive quarry excavation pose a severe and unacceptable threat to our local groundwater table, private wells, and the Little River.

[Optional: Insert one sentence about how this impacts you personally. For example: "I have lived in my home here for 50 years and refuse to see it destroyed," or "I drive my daughter to preschool along Verdon Road every day and fear for her safety with this proposed truck traffic."]

Industrial developments do not keep their impacts inside the lines drawn on a site plan. I ask you to stand with the citizens you were elected to represent and vote for clean water, safe roads, and rural character over industrial expansion.

Please go on the record and DENY this land-use application.

Sincerely,