The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) has completed the Draft Hampton Roads Regional Freight Study – 2012 Update report.

The movement of freight is critical in Hampton Roads, which is not only home to the third largest port on the East Coast but also the home of airports, rail terminals, private trucking, shipping and warehouse distribution facilities.  These facilities are served by a network of road and rail corridors, many of which are congested.  In order for Hampton Roads to attract new business interests and continue to grow economically, its transportation network must facilitate the rapid and efficient movement of raw materials and finished products using trucks, trains, ships, and planes.

To assist the HRTPO Board in planning and programming to improve freight movement, HRTPO staff regularly produces the Hampton Roads Regional Freight Study.  The 2012 update focuses on two major components:

1. Commodity Flows – analyzes foreign and domestic freight movement to, from, and within Hampton Roads for all transportation modes by weight and value for existing (2010) and projected (2040) conditions using FHWA’s Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) database.  This section determines freight movements, top trading partners and top commodities for Hampton Roads.  This section also utilizes the commodity flow data to measure the importance of local gateway corridors for trucks.
2. Regional Truck Movement – analyzes the movement of trucks both within Hampton Roads as well as through the gateways of the region, and identifies locations with high levels of truck delay.  This analysis is based primarily on VDOT vehicle classification counts and INRIX travel time and speed data. 

Click Here to view a copy of the draft document. 

All interested parties are encouraged to review the draft report and send comments to Mr. Keith Nichols at knichols@hrtpo.org or by mail to 723 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake, Virginia 23320. The deadline for comments on this draft report is August 1st, 2012.