Roadway congestion is a primary concern facing the users of the Hampton Roads transportation system as it adversely impacts quality of life and economic competitiveness. In order to evaluate current roadway conditions, assess regional transportation needs, and outline strategies to manage current and future roadway congestion, the HRTPO is updating its Congestion Management Process (CMP) report.

The CMP is an ongoing program in which congestion in the multi-modal, regional transportation system is evaluated and for which improvements are recommended. The main goals of the CMP are to reduce congestion/travel time delays, encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation, and improve air quality through the promotion and coordination of congestion mitigation strategies. The CMP is a vital element of the HRTPO planning process and is used as a guide to develop project recommendations for the Transportation Improvement Program and the Long-Range Transportation Plan. The CMP is a federal requirement for urbanized areas over 200,000 in population and included in the HRTPO FY 2010 Unified Planning Work Program under Task 5.1.

The CMP will assist the HRTPO to perform the following tasks for the regional transportation system:
• Measure multi-modal transportation system performance
• Identify congested locations
• Determine the causes of congestion
• Develop alternative strategies to mitigate congestion
• Evaluate the potential of different strategies
• Propose alternative strategies that best address the causes and impacts of congestion
• Track and evaluate the impact of previously implemented congestion management strategies

The Hampton Roads CMP takes a “region-wide” approach to identify and address congestion concerns. The CMP will also develop a “toolbox” of strategies to address the most congested locations. Since we cannot simply build our way out of congestion, all strategies must be considered, with adding roadway capacity as a last resort. In addition, this report will rank corridors based on congestion and a variety of other criterion, including freight, safety, travel speed, and military significance. Finally, congestion mitigation strategies are identified and recommended for these locations.

The Hampton Roads CMP report is expected to be released for public review this summer and should be finalized by late summer 2010. Both the draft and final versions of the report will be included on the HRTPO website at www.hrtpo.org