WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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Bloomington-based Indiana Limestone Company has filled in Sander’s Quarry.
The quarry, made famous by the 1979 Academy-award winning movie Breaking Away, which you just heard a clip from, has been the site of controversy for decades. Indiana Limestone Company has repeatedly moved to fill in and shut down the now-defunct quarry; Swimmers have repeatedly been injured or died jumping from the limestone ledges.
The highest peak of the 70-foot rim, called rooftop, was a popular diving spot for locals and students for half a century, even lending its name to a local beer. But, just over the past 20 years, at least 3 people have died in Sander’s Quarry. Several others have been injured, either by hitting the water or by falling onto one of the many limestone boulders that surround the water’s edge.
Last week, a Bloomington local posted photos to Facebook showing Rooftop has been completely filled in with dirt. Those images have since been removed. Indiana Limestone Company has pressed charges against people caught trespassing in Sander’s quarry. Indiana Limestone Company did not return a request for comment left last week.
The Herald-Times confirmed rumors today that the quarry has been filled with dirt.
Indiana Limestone Company bulldozed trees and boulders around the quarry’s edge in 2016, in an effort to prevent trespassers from jumping in the quarry.
