Nearly 2 million old railroad ties have finally been removed from their storage spot in Radford, where a proposal to recycle the tar-treated wood turned into an environmental hazard.

Norfolk Southern Corp., which years ago sold the ties to businessman D.E. Hammond, recently completed a project to haul them away, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality announced Thursday.

Dating to the 1980s, the ties sat stacked and unused for years after Hammond's business went bankrupt. Hammond had hoped to sell the ties as landscaping material.

The railroad "willingly removed these old railroad ties at their own expense, and the result is a new opportunity for productive use of industrial property in Radford," DEQ director David Paylor said in a statement.

"This effort is a clear demonstration of their commitment to stewardship."

After once taking the position that it was no longer responsible for the ties after selling them to Hammond, Norfolk Southern later agreed to clean up the site as part of a program spearheaded by DEQ.

The ties, preserved with coal tar creosote, were considered a fire and environmental hazard on the 7-acre site, which is off Main Street near the New River.

Removal of the ties began last summer and was completed earlier this month. Most of the ties were taken by rail to a facility in Pennsylvania that burns treated wood to generate electricity.

Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman did not have an estimate on the cost of transporting the ties, saying it was done in the normal course of business.