Air Travel

Norfolk International Airport (ORF) and Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) handle flights to and from US cities, and many international destinations.  Hampton Roads Executive Airport (PVG) serves smaller aircraft, such as business charters or private planes.

Bus

Hampton Roads Transit serves the cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach.

Light Rail

The Tide, Virginia’s first light rail system, opened for service in Norfolk on August 19, 2011.  It extends 7.4 miles from the Eastern Virginia Medical Center complex east through downtown Norfolk and adjacent to I-264 to Newtown Road.  Eleven stations provide access to dining, shopping and entertainment as well as the Norfolk State University and Tidewater Community College (Norfolk) campuses.  There are four park-and-ride lots where parking is always free.

Ferry

Hampton Roads Transit operates three 150-passenger paddlewheel ferries on the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth. They travel between North Landing and High Street in Portsmouth and the Waterside festival marketplace in downtown Norfolk. They’re fast, economical and offer a unique view of the river and the waterfront. Ferries operate every 30 minutes with 15-minute service during the summer at peak times on weekends. Schedules are subject to change based on operating situations (weather, mechanical problems, etc.). The ferry is wheelchair accessible and allows boarding passengers to walk on with their bicycles.

Passenger Train

Amtrak provides passenger rail service to the cities of Norfolk and Newport News.

Highways

  • Interstate 64 stretches nearly 300 miles from West Virginia to Hampton Roads. It crosses the Allegheny Mountains, the Shenandoah Valley and the central Piedmont.

  • Interstate 264 is an east-west highway, stretching 26 miles through Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Virginia Beach. It crosses the Elizabeth River, South Branch, via the Downtown Tunnel and the East Branch via the Berkley Bridge. I-264 was built in 1968, but didn’t include the bridge/tunnel complex or the Route 44 Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway. The Downtown Tunnel and Berkley Bridge were added as part of I-264 in 1978 after Virginia received federal interstate funding. The money was used for bridge and tunnel renovations. They included the addition of a parallel two-lane tube and a four-lane bridge, re-decking of the existing bridge and upgrading the interchanges. The project was completed in the early 1990s. The Route 44 Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway was renumbered to I-264 in 1999. The expressway opened in 1967 and later became a continuation of I-264. It was funded and built with revenue bonds. There was a 25-cent toll on this portion until 1995. The original road had four lanes. It was widened to six lanes in the 1980s and to eight lanes in the early 1990s.

  • Interstate 464 is 5.69 miles long and connects Chesapeake to the Berkley section of Norfolk. The first section opened 1967. It was completed in 1989. The highway was planned as a bypass to U.S. Route 460 (Bainbridge Boulevard), Route 168 (Atlantic Avenue), and Campostella Road. I-464 is a connector to the ports and the military installation in south Norfolk. The highway has six lanes from Interstate 64 to Route 337 (Poindexter Street) and four lanes from Poindexter Street to Interstate 264.

  • Interstate 564 is a six-lane highway, running 2.77 miles from Interstate 64 near Wards Corner to the U.S. Naval Base in Norfolk. The highway was originally four lanes (two each way). When two lanes were (one each way) were added in 1993, the inner lanes were reserved for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. It opened in three sections – the first in 1971, the second in 1974 and the last in1977. Two more lanes were added in 1993. I-564 has a 680-foot-long tunnel under a Naval Air Station runway. The highway was planned to replace Admiral Taussig Boulevard, the original road to the Navy base.

  • Interstate 664 connects Interstate 64 in Hampton to I-64 and Interstate 264 in Chesapeake. Its most notable feature is the Monitor Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, which carries traffic over three miles of the James River and under it for a mile. It provides a second interstate crossing in the area, which is a major tourist destination and home to NASA and several military bases. The facility’s high-tech traffic control room, lighting and ventilation were state-of-the-art when it was completed in 1992. The facility cost $400 million.

Bridges & Tunnels

Hampton Roads’ natural assets have made it one of the busiest ports on the East Coast. The region is home to the world’s largest naval base and is a summertime destination for hundreds of thousands of visitors. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) maintains eleven major bridges and tunnels in Hampton Roads.

Tunnels

  • Monitor Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, I-664

  • Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT), I-64

  • Downtown Tunnel, I-264

  • Midtown Tunnel, Route 58

  • Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, Route 13

Bridges

  • George P. Coleman Bridge, Route 17

  • James River Bridge, Routes 17/258/32

  • Berkley Bridge, I-264

  • High Rise Bridge, I-64

  • Gilmerton Bridge, Routes 13/460

  • South Norfolk Jordan Bridge, Route 337

 

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