The issue of trains blocking railroad crossings in Hampton Roads, exacerbated by the Port of Virginia’s growth, is expected to persist.
To address this, the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization HRTPO has developed a methodology for prioritizing which of the 307 public, at-grade railroad crossings to focus on to ease traffic congestion.
A proposal for 25 priority crossings will be presented to the HRTPO Board soon, based on six factors: traffic volumes, safety, roadway characteristics, train volumes, estimated delay, and area/equity factors.
Chesapeake has the most railroad crossings 122, while Norfolk has the most public, at-grade crossings 73. The city of Norfolk has actively engaged the public in identifying delays, encouraging real-time reports. Chesapeake is advancing its Freeman Avenue Overpass project and has requested funding for a study of solutions for Portlock Road.
The Port of Virginia’s growth — a 30% increase in cargo since 2020 — has led to more train traffic and longer delays at crossings.
This shift from trucking to rail has alleviated roadway congestion but created new conflicts at crossings due to the increased rail volume.
As more ports on the East Coast also experience growth, this issue is likely to persist. Federal grants are seen as key to funding solutions for these challenges.