(The following story by Jeff Sturgeon appeared on the Roanoke Times website on May 18, 2009.)
ROANOKE, Va. — It could be late summer or fall before a judge rules on a lawsuit against a planned intermodal rail yard in Elliston.
Montgomery County, which is trying to block the project, is arguing that Virginia’s constitution forbids state funding of private railroad facilities.
But attorneys for the state and Norfolk Southern Corp., which intend to jointly fund the project, say Virginia lawmakers agreed the state could fund freight rail projects that will reduce truck traffic on roads.
The Richmond Circuit Court has asked attorneys for legal briefs by July 21, said Kathleen Wright, one of the county’s outside attorneys in the case. A hearing is possible in August or September, Wright said.
The yard is envisioned as an open-air facility for transferring shipping containers between trucks and trains. Located on a major rail line linking the Port of Virginia and Midwest markets, the facility is expected to cover 65 acres in eastern Montgomery County and cost about $50 million with related road work.
Montgomery County filed suit last year to block the project, suing the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit, Commonwealth Transportation Board and railroad.
The lawsuit takes legal issue with substantial state funding for the project, but Montgomery County leaders have revealed practical concerns touching on traffic, aesthetics and land use considerations. They have said the project will not deliver promised economic benefits.
The yard is expected to cost $24.8 million, with the state paying $17.4 million and the railroad $7.4 million, said rail and transit spokeswoman Jennifer Pickett.
Moving Cove Hollow Road, which the project overlaps, is expected to cost $11.3 million, with $7.9 million coming from the state and $3.4 million from the railroad, she said.
A second road project bears a price tag of about $15 million — putting improvements together to widen North Fork Road between U.S. 460/11 and Interstate 81.
The county’s legal attack says the state’s 2006 decision to participate in project funding violates the state constitution. The state and railroad argue that state funds may be used for rail projects likely to curb truck traffic.
The railroad says that it will repay state funds if the yard does not result in 150,000 fewer trucks a year on area roads by the fifth year after the intermodal yard and tunnel-raising work are completed.
Even though the project is under court challenge, the railroad has begun to buy land rights in Elliston. Earlier this month, the Virginia Department of Transportation notified several residents that surveyors working on future road improvements will be visiting their property.