112 replies to this topic

[rusthebuss]

Maeserk says that HR could be the busiest port in the country but...........


I was wondering when this was going to be brought up by one of the shipping companies. Well the state could really screw this up by not building the proper infrastructure. Well it will hit them in the pocket.

[okinawatyphoon]

China cargo carrier signs 10-year deal with port

[rusthebuss]

Thats excellent news!

[lil-bear]

Interesting!
Craney Island

[lil-bear]

Here's more about the new port terminal

Here is another article from the VA Pilot!!!

[PeninsulaKiddo]

lil-bear, on Nov 29 2005, 01:06 PM, said:

Here's more about the new port terminal

Here is another article from the VA Pilot!!!

Awesome.  That's the only word I can think of.  I think there's a lot of fear in this region--economically--that the gaps in the military (as caused by the loss of a couple flattops and Monroe) would impact the economy of the region severely.  I think that the explosive growth of the port will help to buffer the blow and decrease its severity drastically.  Truly, I do believe that the port is the economic engine that will turn Hampton Roads into a national-level powerhouse.  I don't want to get cocky... but 2030.  I predict that by then we will equal New York in tonnage.  We have soo much incredible potential to grow, and now we have to live up to that potential.

[Padman]

Our geographic location is unbeatable for shipping.  I only wonder if the shipping industry is at all hampered by our limited connections to our south and our west.  The 460 project would help a lot, especially for an alternative to I-64.  The rail shipping connections seem to be fine.

[vdogg]

Port officials say Virginias port will be busiest on east coast, replacing New York

The Port of Virginia will become the number-one port on the East Coast, outstripping New York, according to J.J. Keever, the Virginia Port Authority’s deputy executive director.....

[rusthebuss]

vdogg, on Jan 13 2006, 11:31 AM, said:

Port officials say Virginias port will be busiest on east coast, replacing New York

The Port of Virginia will become the number-one port on the East Coast, outstripping New York, according to J.J. Keever, the Virginia Port Authority’s deputy executive director.....

I hope so and maybe this will help us with bringing in more jobs by all the national attention! Maybe we can start a HR Port thread vdogg!

[vdogg]

rusthebuss, on Jan 13 2006, 12:04 PM, said:

I hope so and maybe this will help us with bringing in more jobs by all the national attention! Maybe we can start a HR Port thread vdogg!

I'm pretty sure we already have one, it just got lost in the shuffle when I split the forums. I'll check around some more.

[vdogg]

Here we go, somehow it had wound up at the bottom of the Norfolk forum

[urbanfan]

rusthebuss, on Jan 13 2006, 12:04 PM, said:

I hope so and maybe this will help us with bringing in more jobs by all the national attention! Maybe we can start a HR Port thread vdogg!

Let's all remember that this is how New York and L.A. got there starts.  It was because of there ports that they thrived and business moved in.  I don't believe that we will ever be as big as either, but the port is definately going to be a catalyst for new development and new businesses.

[hoobo]

One word:  trucks.  If the VPA is to grow as large as predicted, it needs to plan the road and rail infrastructure properly.  The Ports of LA and Long Beach are choked by poor transportation system.  I-710 is crumbling under the heavy truck traffic.  BNSF has proposed a rail yard near the ports but residents have balked.  LA and Long Beach aren't too thrilled either because of the local sentiment.  VPA needs to continue working with NS and CSX to provide good and swift rail transportation to and from the ports.  VPA also needs to get the state moving on extending 564 to 664 (if not the full Third Crossing) and turning 460 into an interstate quality road.  Virginia and NC also need to work on connecting HR to Raleigh.  This may be a little tough seeing how NC wants to build a large port at Wilmington. (NC's largest port right now is at New Bern)  Without such projects, HR streets and highways will be overrun by trucks.  That won't make for happy residents.

[rusthebuss]

hoobo, on Jan 13 2006, 02:53 PM, said:

One word:  trucks.  If the VPA is to grow as large as predicted, it needs to plan the road and rail infrastructure properly.  The Ports of LA and Long Beach are choked by poor transportation system.  I-710 is crumbling under the heavy truck traffic.  BNSF has proposed a rail yard near the ports but residents have balked.  LA and Long Beach aren't too thrilled either because of the local sentiment.  VPA needs to continue working with NS and CSX to provide good and swift rail transportation to and from the ports.  VPA also needs to get the state moving on extending 564 to 664 (if not the full Third Crossing) and turning 460 into an interstate quality road.  Virginia and NC also need to work on connecting HR to Raleigh.  This may be a little tough seeing how NC wants to build a large port at Wilmington. (NC's largest port right now is at New Bern)  Without such projects, HR streets and highways will be overrun by trucks.  That won't make for happy residents.

To be honest with you, the third crossing really is for the ports. I don't know if it will really ease traffic at the HRBT besides moving those trucks to the Monitor Merrimack tunnel. Maybe this is the real reason for them fixing the 664-64 interchange in Hampton.

[johnhowell]

Quote

Because the first part of the terminal won’t open until 2017, there will be a decade-long period when the project isn’t generating any cash for debt service or other uses, Oliver said.

Wow, 2017...

[hoobo]

rusthebuss, on Jan 13 2006, 06:32 PM, said:

To be honest with you, the third crossing really is for the ports. I don't know if it will really ease traffic at the HRBT besides moving those trucks to the Monitor Merrimack tunnel. Maybe this is the real reason for them fixing the 664-64 interchange in Hampton.

Exactly.  It's to move trucks to an underused facility from an overused one.  MMBT also has a higher clearance so there won't be those lovely tunnel closures at HRBT when a truck scrapes the tiles off the ceiling.  I'm sure once the Third Crossing is built, trucks will be permanently diverted to the MMBT.

[Otto]

hoobo, on Jan 13 2006, 02:53 PM, said:

One word:  trucks.  If the VPA is to grow as large as predicted, it needs to plan the road and rail infrastructure properly.  The Ports of LA and Long Beach are choked by poor transportation system.  I-710 is crumbling under the heavy truck traffic.  BNSF has proposed a rail yard near the ports but residents have balked.  LA and Long Beach aren't too thrilled either because of the local sentiment.  VPA needs to continue working with NS and CSX to provide good and swift rail transportation to and from the ports.  VPA also needs to get the state moving on extending 564 to 664 (if not the full Third Crossing) and turning 460 into an interstate quality road.  Virginia and NC also need to work on connecting HR to Raleigh.  This may be a little tough seeing how NC wants to build a large port at Wilmington. (NC's largest port right now is at New Bern)  Without such projects, HR streets and highways will be overrun by trucks.  That won't make for happy residents.

Greetings all.....I just wanted to make a quick correction.  The port of Wilmington is actually NC's largest port....with Morehead City second.  There are no marine terminals in New Bern.  The proposed NC container terminal will be south of Wilmington in Southport in Brunswick County.  It will be substantially closer to the open water than Wilmington.

Virginia is taking steps to get their railroad infrastructure in line...
http://www.drpt.virg...on-11-15-05.pdf

[vdogg]

Otto, on Jan 16 2006, 04:51 PM, said:

Greetings all.....I just wanted to make a quick correction.  The port of Wilmington is actually NC's largest port....with Morehead City second.  There are no marine terminals in New Bern.  The proposed NC container terminal will be south of Wilmington in Southport in Brunswick County.  It will be substantially closer to the open water than Wilmington.

Virginia is taking steps to get their railroad infrastructure in line...
http://www.drpt.virg...on-11-15-05.pdf

Hi there. Welcome to the forum Otto and thanks for the information.  

[hoobo]

Otto, on Jan 16 2006, 02:51 PM, said:

Greetings all.....I just wanted to make a quick correction.  The port of Wilmington is actually NC's largest port....with Morehead City second.  There are no marine terminals in New Bern.  The proposed NC container terminal will be south of Wilmington in Southport in Brunswick County.  It will be substantially closer to the open water than Wilmington.

I was thinking of Morehead City.  Don't know why I put New Bern.  I think that's up river a bit.  Anyway, that would have been wrong too.  Just looked it up:  Wilmington processes 500,000 more tons than Morehead City.  I should've checked before posting.  Anyway, the proposed terminal near Wilmington aims to become one of the top container terminals in the country.  It's aided by its location near the eastern terminus of I-40.  This highlights HR's need to improve road connections to points west.

[odumonarch]

hoobo, on Jan 13 2006, 02:53 PM, said:

One word:  trucks.  If the VPA is to grow as large as predicted, it needs to plan the road and rail infrastructure properly.  The Ports of LA and Long Beach are choked by poor transportation system.  I-710 is crumbling under the heavy truck traffic.  BNSF has proposed a rail yard near the ports but residents have balked.  LA and Long Beach aren't too thrilled either because of the local sentiment.  VPA needs to continue working with NS and CSX to provide good and swift rail transportation to and from the ports.  VPA also needs to get the state moving on extending 564 to 664 (if not the full Third Crossing) and turning 460 into an interstate quality road.  Virginia and NC also need to work on connecting HR to Raleigh.  This may be a little tough seeing how NC wants to build a large port at Wilmington. (NC's largest port right now is at New Bern)  Without such projects, HR streets and highways will be overrun by trucks.  That won't make for happy residents.

Yes I do agree about US 460.  The problem with US 460 is that it is a federal highway, and the state of Virginia might require permission to improve transportation in that road.  HR is connected to Raleigh via US 17 and US 64.  But the Port of HR could be choked off with a lack of transportation.  US 460 has a lot of stoplights, which might turn off truck drivers.  I-64 from Norfolk to Richmond is a bottleneck which turns off truck drivers too.  US 17 is now a 2-lane road which turns off truck drivers too.  US 58 is the other road, but it leads to I-95 in Emporia, about 80 miles west of Norfolk.  The biggest problem with the Port of HR expanding is where is the convenient route for the traffic?  Virginia has transportation issues, and hasn't been able to keep up with the daily routine of traffic since Douglas Wilder was in office.  Wilder cut money for transportation in the 1990-91 recession instead of raising taxes, which is why Virginia has fallen behind in transportation.  Plus George F. Allen, the governor in 1994, overhauled VDOT's policy which gave engineers an early retirement package, thus making VDOT one of the worst run agencies in the state.

Now VDOT is slowly getting back on track, and if Governor Kaine makes good on his transportation bills, then the Port of HR could have decent traffic 2 Richmond and Raleigh, which makes it an easy target for expansion.  But, Virginia limits terms to one, making it difficult for governors to pass transportation bills in only four years.  We've seen the same problems since Wilder in office.  Virginia's laws need serious change, since some of them were from the 17th century.