Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 22, 1993 TAG: 9310220102
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Dec. 6 tentatively has been set for the train and the new Smith Gap landfill to begin operating.
But that is contingent on contractors remaining on schedule for the rest of the work.
John Hubbard, executive director of the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority, said Thursday that the new landfill should be ready by the target date, although some things might not be complete by then.
The delay won't cause major problems, because the existing landfill will have space to take more than 700 tons of trash daily until December.
Authority officials had worried that the old landfill might be full before the new Smith Gap landfill opened. But Hubbard said that won't happen.
The new landfill had been scheduled to open in October, but it was delayed because of heavy rains last spring and other factors.
John Olver, a consultant, said the need to coordinate the work of several contractors on various parts of the project also delayed the project.
Five years in the making, the $28 million project will be the first in the nation to use a train to haul garbage from a transfer station to a landfill.
The transfer station on Hollins Road off Orange Avenue will be finished in November, Hubbard said.
Trucks will take garbage to the transfer station, where it will be loaded onto railroad cars.
The Norfolk Southern train, to be known as the Waste Line Express, will haul the garbage to a tipping building at Smith Gap, where it will be loaded onto trucks and taken to the landfill.
Six of the specially made rail cars already have arrived and are stored at the transfer station. They are being made by Trinity, a rail car manufacturer, in Butler, Pa.
Most of the rail spur to the landfill has been completed, Hubbard said.
All of the heavy equipment for the landfill has been ordered, andmost is ready for delivery, Hubbard said.
Much of the clearing and grading has been finished. A soil liner has been installed in approximately half of the disposal area.
The authority plans a grand opening of the transfer station and landfill on Dec. 1, featuring a ride along the trash train's 33-mile route.
Hubbard said 300 people will be invited to the event, which will include tours of the transfer station and landfill.
The authority and railroad have a $7,000 budget for the festivities, which will include a barbershop quartet and other entertainment.
The Bradshaw Civic League will offer a barbecue lunch at the landfill as a fund-raising project.
"We want this to be a celebration for all those who have been involved in the project, and we have tried to plan an event that will reward everyone's efforts with a day of enjoyment and celebration," Hubbard said.
by CNB