Relocate Quarries along I-90 Tourist Corridor in Black Hills?

The scenic valley that runs westward from Rapid City to the Wyoming border cradles I-90 between ponderosa-forested hills on each side.  The building of the interstate and nearby US Air Force base were made possible by quarry materials from open pit mines in west Rapid City and along the valley.

       Having quarries close by means that construction demands for sand, gravel, and other aggregates will be not only convenient but cost effective, in short a boon for the local economy.  The need for ample concrete for building and road projects, however, must also acknowledge the importance of the tourist industry in the Black Hills.  Visitors come and go from places like Mount Rushmore, Deadwood, and Sturgis—and they do so along I-90.

        For many tourists, though, the lasting memory will be the enormous and unsightly excavations along the western wall of the valley.  “Is there no regulation of this industry?” some might well ask.  Others will wonder if there are any limits to expansion of these eyesores on the landscape.

      Yes, there are reclamation plans on paper somewhere, but what will be lost in damage to the upward reach of the Black Hills, which will tend to become lower and flatter than they once were, albeit with surface plantings.

       Perhaps local governments should think of protecting the I-90 corridor (and west Rapid City) by negotiating with Pete Lien and Sons to relocate some quarries to land parcels farther removed from tourist eyes.