About RVRA

Residents and businesses in the the County of Roanoke, City of Roanoke, and the Town of Vinton generate 700 tons of waste every day. These valley localities created the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority in 1992 and joined forces with Norfolk Southern in an innovative public-private partnership to take out the trash. The Authority owns the Tinker Creek Transfer Station, the Smith Gap Landfill, and the Waste Line Express train. This regional public-private partnership is the first project in the United States that uses rail as the sole transportation link between a solid waste transfer station and a landfill. A seven member Board of Directors oversees the operation of the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority.

At left is a 7 minute video describing the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority.

Below is an overview of how we collect and process the Valley's waste.

Tinker Creek Transfer Station	Each locality collects its own trash using its own equipment. After collection, refuse trucks deliver the trash to the Resource Authority's Tinker Creek Transfer Station. The Transfer Station was designed by citizens and planners to resemble a Norfolk Southern shop or office building and to be an asset to the neighborhood. At the Transfer Station, waste is loaded into specially-designed rail cars and covered with watertight lock-down lids. Each rail car holds 65 tons of waste, making them among the largest on the railroad. At the end of the day, all waste that has been collected and loaded into the 10-12 rail cars are transported 33 miles on the Waste Line Express by Norfolk Southern to the landfill.
	The Waste Line Express is a 10-12 car, custom-built train that hauls solid waste between the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority's Tinker Creek and Smith Gap stations. Each weekday evening, the train makes its 33-mile journey carrying over 500 tons of waste collected from residents and businesses in the County of Roanoke, City of Roanoke, and the Town of Vinton . Each rail car can hold up to 65 tons of waste, making these cars among the largest in operation on the railroad. The Waste Line Express is owned by the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority and operated under contract with Norfolk Southern.
Smith Gap Station	The Smith Gap Station is located on Bradshaw Road in the County of Roanoke. The building is designed to resemble a rural train station. Upon arriving at the landfill, the rail cars are uncoupled and positioned for unloading the following day. The train makes a daily trip to Smith Gap with the loaded cars from the Transfer Station and returns the same day with empty rail cars from the previous day's load.
Smith Gap Station Rotary Dumper	At the Smith Gap Station the rail cars are unloaded using the largest rotary dumper in the world. The rail cars are rotated upside down to remove the waste. The unloading operation takes place inside the tipper building, where the waste is inspected and loaded into haul trucks.
Smith Gap Landfill	Waste is buried in a 1,200 acre, environmentally protected landfill disposal area that meets all state and federal regulations.

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