Located in the southeastern corner of the state,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

is economically and culturally important to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. A variety of transportation modes have developed around the city's importance and somewhat unusual geography.

Rail

In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, Norfolk was served by three passenger railroads, with destinations in various directions.

Norfolk Terminal Station Norfolk Terminal Station was a railroad union station located in Norfolk, Virginia, which served passenger trains and provided offices for the Norfolk and Western Railway, the original Norfolk Southern Railway (a regional carrier in Virginia and ...

, a union station, served

Norfolk & Western The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisi ...

trains bound west for Roanoke and other cities across Virginia, and further to Cincinnati, and

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

(old company) trains bound for Raleigh and to Virginia Beach. The

Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. Histor ...

was bound for Roanoke and Deep Water, West Virginia. Norfolk Southern passenger service was discontinued by the end of the 1940s. The Virginian Railway passenger trains were discontinued by 1956. The N&W trains ceased using Terminal Station in 1962; the last N&W train, the ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

'' continued to 1971 at the replacement station. Today, Norfolk is served by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

at the Norfolk station. The line runs west along the NS/(US460) Southside corridor to Petersburg, then continues to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

and points beyond. A high-speed rail connection at Richmond to both the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...

and the

Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor The Southeast Corridor (SEC) is a proposed passenger rail transportation project in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States to extend high-speed passenger rail services from Washington, D.C. south through Richmond, Petersburg with a spu ...

are also under study.

Advent of the highway (1952–1970)

With the dawn of the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

, new highways opened and a series of bridges and tunnels opening over fifteen years would link

with the Peninsula,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

, and

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous ci ...

. On May 23, 1952, the

Downtown Tunnel The Downtown Tunnel on Interstate 264 (I-264) and U.S. Route 460 Alternate (US 460 Alt.) crosses the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in the South Hampton Roads area of Virginia, US. It links the independent City of Ports ...

opened connecting Norfolk with the city of Portsmouth. A second parallel tube was built in 1987. The

flows in four lanes (two in each direction), carrying a portion of Interstate 264. In 1991, the new Downtown Tunnel/ Berkley Bridge complex was completed, with a new system of multiple lanes of highway and interchanges connecting Downtown Norfolk and Interstate 464 with the Downtown Tunnel tubes. On November 1, 1957, the

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Hamp ...

opened to traffic, connecting the

Virginia Peninsula The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the n ...

with the city, signed as State Route 168. The new two-lane toll bridge-tunnel connection became a portion of

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

by the end of 1957, connecting Norfolk westward with a limited access freeway. A second parallel tube was built in 1976, expanding the access to four lanes. The tolls were removed in December 1976. The two-lane Midtown Tunnel was completed September 6, 1962, supplementing the Downtown Tunnel and the Berkley Bridge. On December 1, 1967, the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway ( Interstate 264 and State Route 44), a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implement ...

leading from Baltic Avenue in Virginia Beach to Brambleton Avenue in Norfolk, opened to traffic at a cost of $34 million. Many at the time believed the project was doomed to fail due to the cost of 10 to 25 cents to access the expressway. Opponents argued that commuters would simply continue to use Virginia Beach Boulevard as the primary route to and from Virginia Beach. The Expressway was a resounding success however, perhaps too successful for Norfolk in that soon thereafter, many more people began to move to the neighboring city of Virginia Beach and commute back to work in Norfolk, a common practice which continues to this day. The tolls were removed on June 1, 1995, and State Route 44 portion of the freeway became signed as I-264 in July 1999.

Roadways

is linked with its neighbors through an extensive network of arterial and

Interstate highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

s, and bridge-tunnel complexes. The major east-west routes are

, U.S. Route 58 (

Virginia Beach Boulevard Virginia Beach Boulevard is a major connector highway which carries U.S. Route 58 most of its length and extends from the downtown area of Norfolk to the Oceanfront area of Virginia Beach, passing through the newly developed New Urbanist Town Ce ...

) and U.S. Route 60 ( Ocean View Avenue). The major north-south routes are U.S. Route 13 and U.S. Route 460, also known as

Granby Street U.S. Route 460 (US 460) in Virginia runs west-east through the southern part of the Commonwealth. The road has two separate pieces in Virginia, joined by a relatively short section in West Virginia. Most of US 460 is a four-lane divided high ...

. Other main roadways in Norfolk include Newtown Road, Waterside Drive, Tidewater Drive, and

Military Highway Military Highway is a four-to-eight-lane roadway built in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, USA during World War II. Carrying US 13 for most of its length, it also carries US 58, and US 460 while in Chesapeake. It is a major al ...

. The Hampton Roads Beltway (I-64 and its spurs I-264, I-464, and I-664) makes a loop around Norfolk. Long-term plans being pushed by the Raleigh-Durham area's Regional Transportation Alliance call for extension of I-495 northeastward to the Hampton Roads area. RTA's plan envisions the entirety of the corridor from Raleigh to Norfolk receiving a new two-digit interstate designation. This interstate would connect two of the United States' largest metropolitan areas still lacking direct interstate access between each other. In May 2016, Interstate 87 was approved in North Carolina, opposed to I-44. Virginia's part of I-87 is a part of VDOT and has not been requested.

Local transit

A transit

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

system and

paratransit Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...

service are provided by

Hampton Roads Transit Hampton Roads Transit (HRT), incorporated on October 1, 1999, began through the voluntary merger of PENTRAN (Peninsula Transportation District Commission) on the Virginia Peninsula and TRT ( Tidewater Regional Transit a.k.a. Tidewater Transit Di ...

(HRT), a regional

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

system headquartered in Hampton. HRT buses run all over

and South Hampton Roads and onto the Peninsula all the way up to Williamsburg. Other routes travel to

Smithfield, Virginia Smithfield is a town in Isle of Wight County, in the South Hampton Roads subregion of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia in the United States. The population was 8,089 at the 2010 census. The town is most famous for the curing and productio ...

. HRT offers a toll($1.50) ferry service from downtown Norfolk to Old Town Portsmouth. Additional services include an HOV express bus to the

Norfolk Naval Base Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hamp ...

, paratransit services, park and ride lots, and the Norfolk Electric Trolley, which provides service in the downtown area. A light rail service is now partially complete for Norfolk and was on the 2012 ballot for Virginia Beach for approval to continue to the Ocean Front from Newtown road station. Currently runs from Newtown road station to Norfolk Sentera Hospital with plans in the future to continue to ODU and Naval Base. The light rail will be called The Tide and will have a starter route running along the southern portion of Norfolk, commencing at Newtown Road and passing through stations serving areas such as

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 193 ...

and

Harbor Park Harbor Park is a stadium, used primarily for baseball, on the Elizabeth River, in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. Once rated the best minor league stadium by ''Baseball America'', it is home to the Norfolk Tides Minor League Baseball team. The Tid ...

before going through the heart of downtown Norfolk and terminating at

Sentara Norfolk General Hospital Sentara Norfolk General Hospital (SNGH) is a large academic hospital, which serves as the primary teaching institution for the adjacent Eastern Virginia Medical School. Located in Norfolk, Virginia, in the Ghent neighborhood and adjacent to Downt ...

Air, bus services, and cruise ships

Established in 1938, the Norfolk Municipal Airport and renamed Norfolk Regional Airport in 1968 and Norfolk International Airport in 1979, Norfolk is primarily served by the

Norfolk International Airport Norfolk International Airport is seven miles (11 km) northeast of downtown Norfolk, an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Authority: a bureau under the municipal government. The ...

, now the region's major commercial airport. The airport is located near Chesapeake Bay, along the city limits straddling neighboring

. Seven airlines provide nonstop services to twenty five destinations. In , ORF had 3,703,664 passengers take off or land at its facility and 68,778,934 pounds of cargo process through its facilities.

Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is in Newport News, Virginia, United States, and serves the Hampton Roads area along with Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk. The airport is owned and operated by the Peninsula Airport Commi ...

also provides commercial air service for the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...

area. Chesapeake Regional Airport provides general aviation services and is located five miles outside of the city limits. Greyhound provides service from a central bus terminal in downtown Norfolk. Bus services to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

via the Chinatown bus, Today's Bus, which is located on Newtown road. The city completed construction in April 2007 of the new $36 million Half Moone Cruise Terminal in downtown adjacent to the Nauticus museum, providing a state-of-the-art permanent structure for various cruise lines and passengers wishing to embark from

. Previously, makeshift structures were used to embark or disembark passengers, supplies, and crew.

References

{{Transportation in the Hampton Roads Region