Firm withdraws application for contentious I-43 work site

An application to create a contentious gravel-crushing site in the Town of Grafton has been withdrawn by Hoffman Construction Co.

The company, which applied to establish the site for its work on the I-43 expansion project, withdrew its application in an Oct. 6 email ahead of a Plan Commission meeting on the same day when the matter was to be discussed.

The email did not provide reasons for why the application was withdrawn. A Hoffman representative could not be reached for comment.

A decision on the site application was tabled during a Sept. 1 Plan Commission meeting as commission members urged Hoffman to consider other locations along the interstate for the site. The postponement followed recommendations from town staff, who did not believe Hoffman supplied enough information on operations for approval at that time.

Hoffman sought to use 10 acres of farmland for gravel crushing, cement mixing and equipment staging from 2022 to 2025 as it worked on the interstate.

The site would have been used heavily for two or three months per year during paving operations and daily or occasionally six or seven months a year.

The proposal received an outpouring of objections from residents and neighbors of the would-be site who expressed concerns about gravel dust, increased truck traffic and environmental concerns.

While Hoffman representatives addressed environmental concerns by saying the company must abide within strict Department of Natural Resources standards, trucks still would have been driving in and out of the site and would increase traffic during operating periods.