Auke Bay quarry wins bigger blasts and Saturday hours through 2036

A rock quarry in Auke Bay can blast 60 percent bigger, start a half hour earlier, run an hour later and work Saturdays, under a permit the Juneau Planning Commission renewed July 28 and extended to 2036.

The maximum blast at Stabler Point Quarry rises from 25,000 to 40,000 cubic yards. Weekday hours now run 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. The new Saturday shift, 8 am to 5 pm outside state holidays, bars blasting, drilling and crushing.

James Sidney, the quarry's sole operator, testified that Saturday work was dropped in 2011 and that local contractors want it back. Materials Source Manager Carleton Shorey said most city contractors work six-day weeks in a limited construction season, and confirmed trucks will be on the road earlier.

Auke Bay residents had already flagged quarry noise and rock trucks as problems in the city's earlier Auke Bay Plan survey. No residents testified at the July hearing.