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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)
 1 Months Ended 12 Months Ended
May 31, 2007
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Dec. 31, 2014
Dec. 31, 2013
Dec. 31, 2012
Dec. 31, 2011
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]          
Expenditures under the noncapital purchase commitments   $ 65,582,000vmc_ExpendituresUnderNoncapitalPurchaseCommitments $ 83,699,000vmc_ExpendituresUnderNoncapitalPurchaseCommitments $ 83,599,000vmc_ExpendituresUnderNoncapitalPurchaseCommitments  
Commitments of minimum royalties under mineral leases   190,124,000vmc_MineralLeasesFutureMinimumRoyaltiesDue      
Expenditures for mineral royalties under mineral leases   49,685,000vmc_RoyaltyExpenditureUnderMineralLeases 53,768,000vmc_RoyaltyExpenditureUnderMineralLeases 46,007,000vmc_RoyaltyExpenditureUnderMineralLeases  
Line of credit   500,000,000us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityMaximumBorrowingCapacity   500,000,000us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityMaximumBorrowingCapacity  
Line of credit fee   0.175%vmc_DebtInstrumentFeePercent      
Unrecognized tax benefits   7,057,000us-gaap_UnrecognizedTaxBenefits 12,155,000us-gaap_UnrecognizedTaxBenefits 13,550,000us-gaap_UnrecognizedTaxBenefits 13,488,000us-gaap_UnrecognizedTaxBenefits
Number of other companies to perform a Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study related to the Lower Passaic River Clean-Up lawsuit 70vmc_NumberOfOtherCompaniesToPerformRemedialInvestigationFeasibilityStudyRelatedToCleanUpLawsuit        
Number of miles of the River used in the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study 17vmc_NumberOfMilesOfRiverUsedInRemedialInvestigationFeasibilityStudy        
Settlement by the defendant to the litigation   48,100,000vmc_SettlementByDefendentToLitigation      
Property, Plant and Equipment [Member]          
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]          
Unconditional purchase obligations   34,401,000us-gaap_RecordedUnconditionalPurchaseObligation
/ us-gaap_RecordedUnconditionalPurchaseObligationByCategoryOfItemPurchasedAxis
= us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentMember		      
Noncapital [Member]          
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]          
Unconditional purchase obligations   38,119,000us-gaap_RecordedUnconditionalPurchaseObligation
/ us-gaap_RecordedUnconditionalPurchaseObligationByCategoryOfItemPurchasedAxis
= vmc_NoncapitalMember		      
EPA [Member]          
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]          
Cost of implementation, minimum   950,000,000us-gaap_LossContingencyRangeOfPossibleLossMinimum
/ dei_LegalEntityAxis
= vmc_EpaPreferredRemedyMember		      
Cost of implementation, maximum   $ 1,730,000,000us-gaap_LossContingencyRangeOfPossibleLossMaximum
/ dei_LegalEntityAxis
= vmc_EpaPreferredRemedyMember		      
Minimum | Standby Letters of Credit [Member]          
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]          
Line of credit interest rate range   1.50%us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityInterestRateAtPeriodEnd
/ us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis
= us-gaap_StandbyLettersOfCreditMember
/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
= us-gaap_MinimumMember		      
Maximum | Standby Letters of Credit [Member]          
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]          
Line of credit interest rate range   2.25%us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityInterestRateAtPeriodEnd
/ us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis
= us-gaap_StandbyLettersOfCreditMember
/ us-gaap_RangeAxis
= us-gaap_MaximumMember