Frac sand mining facility improves Highway 302

Frac sand mining is the latest boom to hit the Permian Basin and one facility is making sure road safety is the top priority.

Black Mountain Sand's Vest facility is located in Winkler County, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and produces four million tons of sand each year.

"It's a huge deal. Frankly, it's the biggest thing going on other than fracking itself," Black Mountain Sand's Senior Project Manager Peter Allen said.

While the business is profitable for the Permian Basin, with it comes road dangers for the community and that's why the company poured $5 million into road improvements.

"There have been a number of accidents and we don't want to contribute to that," Allen said.

TxDOT has already begun to add acceleration and deceleration lanes on Highway 302.

Construction near the entrance of the company should be complete by the middle of February.

Black Mountain Sand already has another facility in the works and it will start selling sand in April.