(The following story by Tim Thornton appeared on the Roanoke Times website on June 3.)
ROANOKE, Va. — When Gov. Tim Kaine’s transportation town meeting at Radford University breaks up this evening, another meeting will convene. John White, Pulaski’s economic development director, said he’s arranged for supporters of an intermodal rail yard in Elliston to meet with Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer.
“It’s just an informal gathering of people who would like to express our support to him of how important this facility will be to the New River Valley,” White said. “I felt like the business community really had not been heard from, and it was time to give them an opportunity. … To be honest with you, I don’t know if anybody will be with me or not.”
Virtually every local government from Franklin County to Clifton Forge has come out in favor of the concept, but not everyone agrees with the chosen site. Montgomery County’s supervisors have passed four resolutions against it. But what Montgomery County sees as a question of whether the state and a corporation should override local zoning, planning and public opinion, others see as obstructing progress.
“One government cannot keep this region from moving forward,” Roanoke Councilman Bev Fitzpatrick said in April.
An intermodal rail yard transfers trailer-size containers between trucks and rail cars. This one is supposed to take 150,000 trucks off Virginia roads. But it will increase truck traffic on Interstate 81 and other nearby roads.
About two years ago, Norfolk Southern Corp. and state officials announced the Roanoke area would be home to such a facility as part of the Heartland Corridor, a $249 million project that aims to move double-stacked freight containers between Columbus, Ohio, and Norfolk faster and more efficiently. Weeks after the announcement, it became apparent that Elliston was NS’ choice for the site.
The Elliston site could cost as much as $50.5 million, according to state estimates, including a highway that would connect the site to Interstate 81. About $40 million of that would be public money. The state is also spending $9.75 million to increase tunnel clearances along the Heartland Corridor. It’s also helping to pay for a $68 million rail line relocation project in Hampton Roads.
A state study says the rail yard would employ about a dozen people. Its spinoff effects could spread 740 to 2,900 jobs, annual economic output of $140 million to $550 million and $18 million to $71 million in taxes over a nine-county, five-city area from Lynchburg to Radford, from Franklin County to Monroe County, W.Va., the study says.
Montgomery County residents have protested the site since it became public. Montgomery County’s supervisors have repeatedly and loudly opposed it. In April the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission hosted 10 area governments in an effort to get a consensus. It didn’t happen.
Recently, Montgomery County Supervisor Gary Creed quoted Kaine’s oft-repeated statement that he doesn’t want to shove the facility on anyone who doesn’t want it, said the discussion should be over.
“Our stance hasn’t changed,” Creed said. “We don’t want it. If he’s true to his word, it’s over.”
White has been encouraging the business community to e-mail the governor’s office in support of the project. White sent an e-mail to 21 people encouraging them to e-mail the governor’s staff and to cut-and-paste from his talking points.
David DeHart, an executive with StellarOne and president of the Radford University Foundation, sent an e-mail saying, “The leaders of the New River Valley” have been reluctant to speak in favor of the project because of the stance taken by Montgomery County supervisors and “a few influential citizens in the Elliston area.”
Annette Perkins, chairwoman of the board of supervisors, said Tuesday that she knew about the landowners’ petition, but she didn’t know about the meeting. And she knows that Montgomery County still opposes an intermodal yard in Elliston.
Perkins said Homer had assured her in April that he would meet with her to talk about the intermodal plans. Perkins said she hasn’t heard from Homer since then, so she’s surprised about his meeting with supporters of the proposal. She’s also surprised that Pulaski’s economic development director would organize such a meeting.
“It’s interesting that somebody in the town of Pulaski or the city of Roanoke are supporting it, but it’s not in their territory,” she said.
Five Elliston households have come out in favor of the site. They all own land that NS and the state would buy for the facility. In fact, nine of 10 property owners at the proposed site signed a petition saying they are not opposed to the project as long as they are fairly compensated.