The proposed final master plan for the redevelopment of the Moores Station Quarry into a new county park has been released by the Mercer County Park Commission.
Public meetings have been held since Dec. 2, 2020, to help develop the Master Plan for the Moores Station Quarry, which is located in Hopewell Township off Route 29 at the intersection with Pleasant Valley Road.
The quarry is also adjacent to Baldpate Mountain.
According to the final master plan, 89%, or about 147 acres, of the site is the designated total for green and blue habitats, 47 acres of existing woodlands and natural area will be protected from any disturbance, and 82 acres will be converted into native meadow and shrubland habitat.
Additionally, 17 acres will be allocated for the ponds, more than 1,000 new trees are planned to be planted, 7.45 acres are designated for recreational amenities, 5 miles of trails will be implemented, and driveways and parking take up 6.94 acres.
The main entrance for the park will come off of River Road and also be a River Road Pedestrian Bridge.
Right after Mercer County residents and visitors enter the main entrance drive off of River Road there will be western and eastern parking areas totaling 150 parking spaces, according to the final plan.
Further into the site they can go to the primary overlook and primary entrance plaza. There will be an additional 55 parking spaces and an Overlook Interpretation building.
On site the proposed plan has a settling pond, upper pond, middle pond and lower pond.
The Stone Yard recreational amenities would include a bike park, adventure playground, multipurpose trail, zipline landing and viewing platform, ropes course, fishing piers and a central promenade.
Around the lower pond, there would be a swimming building, picnic grove, ADA Loop Trail, rock climbing, a wetland boardwalk, middle pond waterfall and a snorkel water trail, according to the plan.
There will be trail connections as well to Canal House and existing switchback trail, Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park Trail, Strawberry Hill and NW Loop Trail Connector.
The rehabilitation of the park would be implemented over a period of a decade.
According to the final Master Plan, the park implementation will begin with the reclamation plan that needs to be completed by Trap Rock Industries prior to when they leave the site. A reclamation plan is necessary to reclaim the site for post-mining uses.
Parts of the Moores Station Quarry 166-acre site have been mined for more than a century and trucks still transport quarried materials from the site.
The quarry pit measures more than 2,000 feet across and about 200 feet deep. There are also steep rock walls, haul roads and small ponds at the site.
Trap Rock Industries is currently conducting the quarrying operations at the site and is set to stop its operations at Moores Station in Spring 2023, when the 25-year agreement between the county and Trap Rock ends.
The Park Commission would then take over the site and begin transforming the open-pit quarry into a park.