By: Keith Nichols, Principal Transportation Engineer
Did you know that rail and air travel passenger levels in Hampton Roads are at all-time highs? Or that the number of bridges in poor condition are less than half than they were a decade ago? These facts and more are included in HRTPO’s State of Transportation in Hampton Roads 2024 report. The State of Transportation report details the current status and recent trends of all facets of the transportation system in Hampton Roads, including air, rail, water, and highways. Many aspects of the highway system are highlighted, including roadway usage, pavement condition, bridge condition, congestion levels, commuting characteristics, roadway safety, transit usage, tolling, and active transportation (such as biking and walking).
There are a number of notable trends highlighted in the State of Transportation in Hampton Roads 2024 report, including:
- Regional roadway travel is increasing but remains below pre-pandemic levels – Based on data collected at 80 continuous count stations located throughout the region, regional traffic volumes increased by 1.9% between 2022 and 2023, but roadway travel levels still remain about 4% below the levels seen prior to the pandemic in 2019.
- Regional air travel passenger levels have surpassed pre-pandemic levels – Nearly 2.4 million passengers boarded flights at the two commercial service airports in Hampton Roads, and passenger levels at Norfolk International Airport reached a record high in 2023.
- While not a record, cargo handled at the Port of Virginia remains well above pre-pandemic levels - The Port handled nearly 25 million tons of general cargo in 2023. While slightly below the 26 million tons that were handled by the Port in 2022, it is 30% higher than the amount of freight handled by the Port in 2014.
- Intercity passenger rail travel far exceeded previous ridership levels – There were a total of 424,400 passengers who boarded or departed Amtrak trains in Hampton Roads in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2023. This is 71% higher than the ridership in FFY 2022 and 97% higher than a decade before. Most of the growth was due to a third train being added each day at the Norfolk station in July 2022.
- The number of fatalites in the region remains high – There were 166 fatalities that resulted from traffic crashes in 2023, a 33% increase from the level seen in the region in 2014. During the same period, the number of crashes in Hampton Roads only increased 4%, indicating that the consequences of crashes has become more severe.
- The condition of bridges continues to improve – The number of bridges in poor condition in Hampton Roads has been decreasing. There were 34 bridges (2.7%) that were classified as structurally deficient in Hampton Roads as of 2024, down from a high of 80 bridges (6.6%) in 2014.
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The State of Transportation report also includes comparisons between Hampton Roads and other large metropolitan areas throughout the United States in order to examine how various aspects of the regional transportation system are performing. HRTPO staff used the 40 other metropolitan areas throughout the country with populations between one and four million people to make these comparisons.
The State of Transportation in Hampton Roads 2024 report can be accessed by clicking on the following link:
State of Transportation in Hampton Roads 2024 Report
