There's hope the city's largest known source of untapped gravel will be available next year to supply a growing demand, says city planner Kinden Kosick.

"We definitely have a need for gravel,” Kosick explained in an interview this week.

"So having Stevens open up at the north end of town, close to where Whistle Bend is going to be constructed, is definitely a positive thing.”

Kosick emphasized, however, that there remains some essential site testing to determine the quantity and quality of gravel, where it is and how deep it is, before a quarry plan can be finalized.

City and Yukon government staff are expected to be in a position to sit down in January once they have the results of a more detailed analysis of the deposit, scheduled to be completed in October, he said.

City council approved an additional $110,000 increase in its budget last week to further its analysis of the area known as Stevens Quarry.

The 75-hectare site identified on the city's Official Community Plan (OCP) as a gravel resource is located between the Alaska Highway and the Takhini River, about 2.6 kilometres west of the Mayo cutoff.

Kosick said if there is a significant shift in the existing quarry estimate, there may be a need to shift the management approach as well, which could delay bringing the quarry on line by next year.

While the city is responsible for sending the project through the environmental screening process, the Yukon government would be responsible for managing the quarry plan, he said.

The land claim settlement with the Kwanlin Dun First Nation includes a commitment to provide the First Nation with 1.18 million cubic metres, or a third of the

estimated volume of gravel at Stevens Quarry.

There was a similar commitment to provide commercial access to the McLean Lake quarry, which Kwanlin Dun began exercising last month.

A 1991 study indicated the Stevens Quarry contains an estimated 3.5 million cubic metres, roughly the equivalent of 350,000 truck-loads of gravel.

A proposed subdivision development by the Yukon government next to the quarry site back in the early 1990s ignited a fiery public debate.

Some argued it was ludicrous to place a subdivision next to a large gravel resource and the never-ending noise of heavy equipment.

Others pointed out the presence of a subdivision would restrict the size of the quarry, resulting in the loss of access to a valuable resource.

Stevens and McLean Lake are the two largest known deposits of gravel identified in the city's OCP.

The city's 2010 budget provided for $90,000 to study the Stevens Quarry site, money which the city is entitled to recover from the government.

After completing the original work, EBA Engineering recommended additional research be conducted using a sonic drill rig, at an estimated cost of the $110,000 approved by council last week, which is also fully recoverable from the government.

Kosick said the city is sharing the cost of bringing the drill up from Calgary with the Minto Mine.

It can drill to a depth of 30 metres or deeper, as well as provide information regarding the type of material beneath the surface, Kosick pointed out.

He said having a more thorough profile of the resource will provide the information required to finalize planning before making the Steven Quarry area available to the private and public sectors.

While the site is estimated at 75 hectares in the OCP, it's expected the actual gravel deposit will be limited to 45 hectares, he said.

By Chuck Tobin

Star Reporter