Every five years, the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) updates the Hampton Roads Rural Long-Range Transportation Plan (RLRTP), a transportation vision plan developed for the City of Franklin and Southampton County.  The RLRTP is part of an ongoing statewide effort to create and maintain regional transportation plans in rural areas that complement those in Virginia’s metropolitan and small urban areas. 

In collaboration with rural stakeholders and the public, HRTPO staff identified transportation needs for the study area factoring in considerations such as forecasted population and employment growth, anticipated travel demand, potential flooding vulnerability, and equitable transportation choices for traditionally underserved populations.  HRTPO staff evaluated and prioritized draft transportation recommendations, highlighting recommendations that align with statewide VTrans Mid-Term Needs and Priorities.  The transportation needs identification and project evaluation process, along with the overall RLRTP update, is documented in the draft 2045 RLRTP report.

In addition to the draft 2045 RLRTP report, HRTPO staff has created a Hampton Roads 2045 RLRTP Interactive StoryMap.  The 2045 RLRTP StoryMap includes a brief introduction and overview of Southampton County and the City of Franklin as included in the draft 2045 RLRTP report, as well as detailed interactive maps on transportation recommendations.  The maps highlight the Prioritized VTrans Needs, Other Prioritized Recommendations, Non-Prioritized Recommendations, and completed and committed projects for Southampton County and the City of Franklin.  Each map is interactive with pop-up windows that show detailed information for each project.  The 2045 RLRTP StoryMap is available on the HRTPO Rural Long-Range Transportation Planning page:  https://www.hrtpo.org/page/rural-long_range-transportation-plan-(rlrtp)/

The draft 2045 RLRTP prioritization scores, transportation recommendations, and report were made available for public review between April 21, 2022 and May 4, 2022.  Comments received during the review period, which have been addressed in the draft report, focused on:

• Need for transit in the rural area, especially for the elderly population
• Desire for more transportation options, including on-demand transportation services and passenger rail
• Concern over potential impacts of increased growth on the transportation system as people possibly migrate inland to Western Tidewater from flood prone areas

The draft 2045 RLRTP report is scheduled for HRTPO Board adoption in July 2022.  Once approved, the 2045 RLRTP can be used by the rural localities to be more competitive in the pursuit of state and federal funding. 

Check out the draft 2045 RLRTP report at:

https://www.hrtpo.org/uploads/docs/HR_2045_RuralLRTP.pdf