Quarry Traffic Studies Flawed, Temecula Consultant Says

A key argument for a proposed quarry near Temecula was drawn into doubt today.

Granite Construction, a company proposing to mine the hills just south of Temecula’s city boundaries, claimed the facility will take truck traffic off the road.

The study was done in a nonsensical – and possibly intentionally flawed – way, a consultant for the City of Temecula said today.

Hundreds of people gathered today at Rancho Community Church for a hearting dealing with Liberty Quarry, a proposed 414-acre mining operation.

The meeting was the third of a series that aimed to decide the fate of the quarry. To read about the first meeting, . To read about the second, .

Granite applied for a change of zone and an exception to the county's noise ordinance, and the planning commission was charged with voting to approve or deny the applications.

The mining company argued during previous meetings it will take truck traffic off Riverside County roads and highways because they will travel shorter distances to load up with aggregate.

The company gave estimates based on a count from 2004 and adjusted the numbers based on research done on only one day, said Chris Gray, a traffic consultant with Fehr & Peers, which the city hired to study Granite’s claims.

The mining company counted the aggregate trucks passing several points near the proposed site without finding out where the trucks were going or from where they came, Gray said.

“Without an idea where the aggregate trucks began or end, you can’t calculate the reduction (in traffic),” he told the commissioners. “We can’t fathom why this method was used.”

Another method tracks the trucks destinations and origins by their license plates, and it’s in common use, he said.

Granite found 1,938 aggregate trucks passed a location near Lake Elsinore on I-15 in 2004. Based on the company’s one-day study, it increased that number to 2,626.

A study by an independent company in 2009 contradicted that adjustment, Gray said. It counted only 458.

The company similarly miscalculated at two other locations, he said.

At a point in Wildomar on I-15, it counted 931 trucks in 2004. It adjusted the number to 1,618 to represent traffic today. The independent researcher, on the other hand, found only 632 in 2009.

At a location on I-15, Granite counted 526 in 2004 and adjusted the number to 1,216 to represent traffic today. The independent firm found only 446.