BARABOO, Wis. -- In a couple of years, motorists will be able to drive right on top of the old Badger Army Ammunition Plant. What might seem impossible will be a reality due to a unique recycling project under way there.

First known as Badger Ordnance Works, the Badger Army Ammunition Plant near Baraboo employed thousands during three wars. Workers made propellant for cannons, rockets and bullets.

The entire operation was massive, as were its blast-proof buildings made of super-thick concrete.

"This place is so immense. The amount of material is mind-boggling," said Tom Bennwitz, an environmental engineer for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

But more than three decades after production stopped, state and federal officials think they have an answer to what to do with more than a million tons of concrete left behind on the sprawling property at the base of the Baraboo bluffs: Recycle it.

Recycling the former gunfire operation into pavement to rebuild a nearby highway is the goal of a new $500,000 project, WISC-TV reported.

At the far edge of the plant, what looks like a quarry operation is under way. But in this project, material for roadwork is being mined off the top of the ground, instead of deep inside it. Vacant structures are also be being tapped, instead of the earth.

"This is one of the most dramatic of the recycling efforts we do here," said Joan Kenney, commander's representative for the Badger Army Ammunition Plant.

With the help of the Army, the state DNR and Department of Transportation are pulling 28,000 tons of concrete from old Badger plant buildings to reconstruct Highway 78. That work is slated for early 2009.

But officials said they first have to remove any asbestos and paint containing PCBs from the concrete. The asbestos and paint are abundant at the plant.

"We have to make sure all the asbestos is removed from all of the materials we're pulling out of the ground and make sure not only the workers are safe when they're doing their activities but also that we're not returning it back into the environment," Bennwitz said.

Asbestos is in the concrete floors as well as in caulking and expansion joints. Officials said it has to be removed because crushing the concrete will release the cancer-causing agent into the air.

Officials said the PCB paint issue is trickier, and there are other obstacles, too, like getting more federal highway funding to recycle more concrete. Still, state and federal officials said they remain hopeful that Highway 78 is only the start.

The future owners of the plant -- the DNR, Ho Chunk Nation and U.S. Agriculture Department -- ultimately plan to open up the property for public use.