ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013 property	Mar. 31, 2013 property	Sep. 30, 2013		Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013 Aggregates	Jun. 30, 2013 Aggregates	Mar. 31, 2013 Aggregates	Sep. 30, 2013 Aggregates		Mar. 31, 2013 Aggregates Previous Appraisal Value [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Contractual Rights	Mar. 31, 2013 Contractual Rights	Sep. 30, 2013 Mitigration Credits [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Real Estate	Sep. 30, 2013 Concrete	Jun. 30, 2013 Concrete property	Mar. 31, 2013 Concrete property
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items]
Number of production facilities acquired		2																4
Transaction costs							$ 905,000
Payment for acquisition of businesses	29,983,000	59,968,000	89,951,000		0
Goodwill recognized in business acquisition									0			9,759,000
Amortizable intangible assets	5,425,000								3,620,000			800,000
Tax deductible term for intangible assets	15 years
Estimated weighted-average amortization period of intangible assets													50 years	20 years
Cash proceeds from divestiture			51,604,000		10,690,000		154,000,000	34,743,000	5,133,000								11,261,000
Property, plant & equipment			6,792,470,000		6,690,448,000	6,666,617,000			52,583,000			45,888,000
Goodwill of dispositions			5,195,000	[1]				4,521,000	674,000	5,195,000	[1]
Withdrawl liability	4,000,000
Gain recognized on divested assets								21,183,000	2,802,000								9,027,000
Number of facilities divested	4																		2
Proceeds from sale of property, plant & equipment			14,974,000		28,930,000										13,469,000	9,691,000			622,000
Gain recognized on sale of equipment and other personal property															$ 12,342,000	$ 5,979,000			$ 457,000

[1] The goodwill of acquired/divested businesses relates to the 2013 acquisitions/divestitures discussed in Note 16.