Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer announced today that Elliston will be the site of the Roanoke Regional Intermodal Facility.

Montgomery County Supervisor Gary Creed confirmed that he had learned this morning that the decision has been made. Creed said Homer will also announce that the state will build a road connecting the site with Interstate 81. The entire project could cost $50.5 million. The road could cost $15 million, according to state estimates.

Creed said this won't end the controversy.

"I feel like there will be actions coming shortly," he said. "We've put them on notice as to what we're going to file on. It has to do with the Constitution. They can't do what they're doing."

Three sites were recently in contention: Elliston, favored by Norfolk Southern Corp. and supported by a state study; Salem, where officials said they would welcome the project; and Roanoke County, where officials did not welcome the project.

While meeting the space and other needs of the railroad, the Elliston site has faced stiff resident and government opposition in the New River Valley, while receiving support from elected leaders and businesspeople in the Roanoke Valley.

The intermodal center - a facility to exchange freight between trains and trucks - is part of a larger strategy to move double-stacked freight containers faster and more efficiently between Hampton Roads ports and the Midwest. A study found it would employ about a dozen people, but spin off 740 to 2,900 jobs, $140 million to $550 million in economic output and $18 million to $71 million in taxes over a 9-county, 5-city area.