Did you know? Quarry Workers are Essential to Miami-Dade County.

Quarry Workers… rock!

Limestone: Miami-Dade’s essential ingredient. Limestone is essential to Miami-Dade County. We use it to build the critical infrastructure, housing, schools and hospitals South Florida needs to thrive. Quarry workers are on the frontlines of economic development, unearthing limestone and providing locally-sourced building materials, which help combat inflation and maintain our local quality of life.  

Why Limestone? Crushed limestone — also known as aggregate — is an essential ingredient in concrete, asphalt and cement, which make modern life possible and has helped build things like: 

• Limestone has been used for thousands of years and has built things like the Egyptian Pyramids, the Parthenon and the Empire State Building.
• Limestone is key to exxential local infrastructure like the Port of Miami, its underground tunnel and sea walls that protect waterfront from the worst effects of storms.

Economic Impact

High quality limestone is an essential natural resource and much of the Sunshine State’s supply is found right here in South Florida. In fact, Florida uses over 139 million tons of aggregate annually, with 60 million of those tons produced in Miami-Dade. 

• The Limestone industry supports over 14,000 jobs and pays $544 million in wages to South Florida’s workers and businesses.

Most local limestone comes from the Lake Belt region in Western Miami-Dade County — and once limestone operations end, reclamation begins. Former quarries often become parks, bass fishing lakes, conservation areas or even new communities. Quarry operations also contribute to the Lake Belt Mitigation Trust fund, which provides support for wetland restoration efforts throughout South Florida.

• Since 1999, the limestone products industry has contributed over $126 million to protect, preserve, and restore the Florida Everglades.

Essentially — Limestone’s Essential!

Without essential limestone quarry workers, Miami-Dade would look very different.

In South Florida alone, there are more than 1,400 bridges and 5,500 miles of public roads. These infrastructure pieces require regular maintenance and improvements that depend on the limestone industry and are essential to Miami-Dade’s continued prosperity.