In order to reduce truck traffic, noise and pollution at the Tozer Gravel Pit in McElmo Canyon, Montezuma County will use a 100-yard conveyor belt to deliver mined gravel to crusher equipment.

While it is not uncommon for gravel mines to use conveyor belts for their operations, it is rare to see one the length of a football field.

"They’re usually not this huge, but when we looked at the route the trucks would have to take, we decided to purchase it and set it up," said County Administrator Tom Weaver. "This works for everyone."

The unit cost $100,000 and was obtained from a coal mine near Hesperus. County crews set it up, and will begin mining at the pit soon.

"We’re real excited to see this thing finally start operating," Weaver said. "It’s a great solution, and will save us transportation costs in the long run."

In light of recent controversy over gravel pits and their effects on neighbors, the conveyor offers a creative way to mitigate problems, he said.

Rather than have noisy trucks grinding up and down a steep, switch-backed hillside , mined gravel will instead be dumped directly onto the belt, which connects with others that lead to processing equipment.

"It can hold 20,000 pounds of material and is operated via remote control to avoid back-ups," said Randy Smith, the county’s crusher supervisor. "The road up here (to the mine) is just too steep and dangerous."

The 59-acre Tozer Pit is one of five used by the county on a rotating basis, every two years or so. It is the only pit leased from the BLM, which does not charge a fee.

Gravel is mined for the purpose of chip-sealing and graveling the county’s 820 miles of maintained roads, a never-ending chore that costs the county $2 million per year, Weaver said.