By: Keith Nichols, PE,  Senior Transportation Engineer

HRTPO has recently released the latest version of the State of Transportation in Hampton Roads report.  The State of Transportation 2013 report details the current status 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, bridge conditions, costs of congestion, commuting characteristics, roadway safety, truck data, transit usage, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, highway funding, and operations.  The State of Transportation 2013 report also includes comparisons between Hampton Roads and other metropolitan areas throughout the United States in order to show how various aspects of the regional transportation system are performing.

One interesting note in this version of the State of Transportation report is that roadway travel in Hampton Roads has decreased in recent years.  Using data from over 50 locations throughout Hampton Roads where traffic counts are collected continuously throughout the entire year, roadway travel peaked in Hampton Roads in 2006 and decreased 4.4% between the peak and 2012.

Other highlights in the report include:

• Amtrak ridership in Hampton Roads increased by 42% over the last decade.
• The number of trips taken on public transportation in Hampton Roads increased by 35% over the last decade.
• The number of traffic crashes in the region decreased by 23% between 2002 and 2011.
• The amount of freight handled by the Port of Virginia nearly returned to pre-recession levels in 2012, and increased by 25% over the last decade.
• Hampton Roads has the 7^th highest congestion level among the 36 large metropolitan areas with populations between one and three million people according to speed data collected by INRIX.

The State of Transportation 2013 report is produced annually as part of the region’s Congestion Management Process (CMP). The Congestion Management Process is an on-going process that identifies, develops, evaluates, and implements transportation strategies to enhance mobility regionwide.  This report is also produced as part of the HRTPO’s Regional Performance Measures effort.

The State of Transportation 2013 draft report is available for public review and comment through May 1, 2013.  You may access the draft Hampton Roads State of Transportation report by clicking on the following link:

Draft Hampton Roads State of Transportation Report

All interested parties are encouraged to review the draft report and send comments to Keith Nichols at knichols@hrtpo.org.