Underwriting Agreement

Exhibit 1.1

EXECUTION VERSION

Vulcan Materials Company

Common Stock, par value $1.00 per share

Underwriting Agreement

June 11, 2009

Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Merrill Lynch & Co.
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
                Incorporated

c/o Goldman, Sachs & Co.
85 Broad Street
New York, New York 10004

c/o Merrill Lynch & Co.
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
               Incorporated

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     Vulcan Materials Company, a New Jersey corporation (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell to the Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”) an aggregate of 11,500,000 shares (the “Firm Securities”) and, at the election of the Underwriters, up to 1,725,000 additional shares (the “Optional Securities”) of Common Stock, par value $1.00 per share (“Stock”) of the Company (the Firm Securities and the Optional Securities that the Underwriters elect to purchase pursuant to Section 2 hereof being collectively called the “Securities”).

     1. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:

     (a) An “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined under Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), on Form S-3 (File No. 333-147796) in respect of the Securities has been filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, became effective on filing; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement or any part thereof has been issued under the Act and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated, or to the knowledge of the Company has been threatened by the Commission, and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of such registration statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act has been received by the Company (the base prospectus filed as part of such registration statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the “Basic Prospectus”; any preliminary prospectus (including any preliminary prospectus supplement) relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act is hereinafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus”; the various parts of such registration statement, including all exhibits thereto and any prospectus supplement relating to the Securities that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B under the Act to be part of such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “Registration Statement”; the Basic Prospectus, as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(c) hereof), is hereinafter called the “Pricing Prospectus”; the form of the final prospectus relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof is hereinafter called the “Prospectus”; any reference herein to the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 11 and Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Act, as of the date of such prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act and any documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and incorporated by reference into such Basic Prospectus, Preliminary Prospectus or Prospectus, in each case after the date of the Basic Prospectus, such Preliminary Prospectus, or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; and any “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under the Act relating to the Securities is hereinafter called an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”);

     (b) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;

     (c) For the purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” is 6:00 pm (New York City time) on the date of this Agreement. The Pricing Prospectus (together with the specified information set forth on Schedule II(a) hereto and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectus identified on Schedule II(b)(i) hereto), as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Schedule II(b) hereto does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus and each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Prospectus as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in the Pricing Prospectus or an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;

     (d) The documents incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and when read together with the other information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, at the respective times the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto became effective, as of the Applicable Time, at the date of the Prospectus and at each Time of Delivery (as defined below), did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable,

and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein; and no such documents were filed with the Commission since the Commission’s close of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement, except as set forth on Schedule II(c) hereto;

     (e) The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will conform, as of the applicable effective date as to the Registration Statement and as of the applicable filing date and as of each Time of Delivery as to the Prospectus, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement and as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;

     (f) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, which is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there has not been any material change in the capital stock or long term debt (which is debt with a maturity of a year or more) of the Company or any of its significant subsidiaries (as defined in Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X) (“Significant Subsidiaries”) or any material adverse change in or affecting the business, management, financial position, shareholders’ equity, results of operations, or to the knowledge of the Company, in the business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

     (g) (i) The Company and its Significant Subsidiaries have good and valid title to all of the properties and assets reflected in the financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and Prospectus, subject to no lien,

mortgage, pledge, charge or encumbrance of any kind except those reflected in such financial statements or which are not material in nature or amount; and (ii) the Company and its Significant Subsidiaries use or occupy their leased properties under valid and binding leases, except in (i) and (ii) as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the business, consolidated financial position, shareholders’ equity, results of operations, or to the knowledge of the Company in the business prospects, of the Company and any of its subsidiaries taken as a whole (a “Material Adverse Effect”);

     (h) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of New Jersey, with corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, and has been duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, except where the failure to so qualify or be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; and each Significant Subsidiary of the Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation or other organization in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is chartered or organized;

     (i) The Company has, as of March 31, 2009, an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus; and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable;

     (j) The Securities to be issued and sold by the Company to the Underwriters hereunder have been duly and validly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable and will conform to the description of the Securities contained in the Prospectus;

     (k) The issue and sale of the Securities and the compliance by the Company with this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, except for such conflicts, breaches, violations or defaults that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, nor will such action result in any violation of any statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties, except for such violations that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws of the Company; and no material consent,

approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the issue and sale of the Securities or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement except such as have been or will have been prior to the First Time of Delivery, obtained under the Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters;

     (l) Neither the Company nor any of its Significant Subsidiaries is in violation of its Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws (or other organizational documents) or in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound, except for defaults that would not have a Material Adverse Effect;

     (m) The statements set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and Prospectus under the caption “Description of Capital Stock”, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Stock, and under the caption “Certain United States Tax Consequences to Non-U.S. Holders of Common Stock”, insofar as they purport to describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein, are accurate, complete and fair in all material respects;

     (n) Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the Company’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by others;

     (o) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof, will not be an “investment company”, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”);

     (p) Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, the property, assets and operations of the Company and its Significant Subsidiaries comply in all material respects with all applicable federal, state and local law, common law, doctrine, rule, order, decree, judgment, injunction, license, permit and regulation relating to environmental matters (the “Environmental Laws”), except to the extent that failure to comply with such Environmental Laws would not have a Material Adverse Effect; to the knowledge of the Company, none of the property, assets or operations of the Company and its Significant Subsidiaries is the subject of any federal, state or local investigation evaluating whether any remedial action is needed to respond to a release into the environment of any substance regulated by, or form the basis of liability under, any

Environmental Laws (a “Hazardous Material”), or is in contravention of any Environmental Law that would have a Material Adverse Effect; neither the Company nor any subsidiary has received any notice or claim, nor are there pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened lawsuits against them with respect to violations of an Environmental Law or in connection with the release of any Hazardous Material into the environment that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and neither the Company nor any subsidiary has any contingent liability in connection with any release of Hazardous Material into the environment, that is material with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole;

     (q) (A) (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), and (iii) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Act) made any offer relating to the Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Act, the Company was a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; and (B) at the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Act) of the Securities, the Company was not an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act;

     (r) Deloitte & Touche LLP, who has expressed its opinion with respect to certain financial statements of the Company, all included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, Pricing Prospectus and Prospectus, and who has expressed its opinion with respect to the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2008, was and will be an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company as of the Applicable Time and each Time of Delivery;

     (s) The Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act and has been designed by the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective and the Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting;

     (t) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that

has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting; and

     (u) The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act; such disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company and its subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities; and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective.

     2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, (a) the Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price per share of $39.36, the number of Firm Securities set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and (b) in the event and to the extent that the Underwriters shall exercise the election to purchase Optional Securities as provided below, the Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at the purchase price per share set forth in clause (a) of this Section 2, that portion of the number of Optional Securities as to which such election shall have been exercised (to be adjusted by you so as to eliminate fractional shares) determined by multiplying such number of Optional Securities by a fraction, the numerator of which is the maximum number of Optional Securities which such Underwriter is entitled to purchase as set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and the denominator of which is the maximum number of Optional Securities that all of the Underwriters are entitled to purchase hereunder.

     The Company hereby grants to the Underwriters the right to purchase at their election up to 1,725,000 shares of Optional Securities, at the purchase price per share set forth in the paragraph above, for the sole purpose of covering sales of shares in excess of the number of Firm Securities, provided that the purchase price per share of Optional Securities shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Securities but not payable on the Optional Securities. Any such election to purchase Optional Securities may be exercised only by written notice from you to the Company, given within a period of 30 calendar days after the date of this Agreement, setting forth the aggregate number of Optional Securities to be purchased and the date on which such Optional Securities are to be delivered, as determined by you but in no event earlier than the First Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4 hereof) or, unless you and the Company otherwise agree in writing, earlier than two or later than ten business days after the date of such notice.

     3. Upon the authorization by you of the release of the Firm Securities, the several Underwriters propose to offer the Firm Securities for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.

     4. (a) The Securities to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder, in such authorized denominations and registered in such names as Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated may request upon at least forty-eight hours’ prior notice to the Company shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company to Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), for the account of such Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified by the Company to Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated at least forty-eight hours in advance. The Company will cause the Securities to be delivered at the office of DTC or its designated custodian (the “Designated Office”). The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be, with respect to the Firm Securities, 9:30 a.m. (New York City time), on June 17, 2009 or such other time and date as Goldman, Sachs & Co., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and the Company may agree upon in writing, and, with respect to the Optional Securities, 9:30 a.m. (New York City time), on the date specified by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated in the written notice given by them of the Underwriters’ election to purchase such Optional Securities, or such other time and date as Goldman, Sachs & Co., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and the Company may agree upon in writing. Such time and date for delivery of the Firm Securities is herein called the “First Time of Delivery”, such time and date for delivery of the Optional Securities, if not the First Time of Delivery, is herein called the “Second Time of Delivery”, and each such time and date for delivery is herein called a “Time of Delivery”.

     (b) The documents to be delivered at each Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 8 hereof, including the cross-receipt for the Securities and any additional documents requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8(m) hereof, will be delivered at the offices of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, 425 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10017 (the “Closing Location”), and the Securities will be delivered at the Designated Office, all at such Time of Delivery. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at 2:00 p.m. (New York City time), on the New York Business Day next preceding such Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto. For the purposes of this Section 4, “New York Business Day” shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York City are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

     5. The Company agrees with each of the Underwriters:

     (a) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the date of this Agreement; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement, the Basic

Prospectus or the Prospectus prior to the last Time of Delivery which shall be disapproved by you in your reasonable judgment promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish you with copies thereof; to file promptly all other material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act; to file within the required time periods all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required under the Act in connection with the offering or sale of the Securities; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Securities, of any notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act, of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for a