Norfolk Harbor Navigation Improvements Project

The Port of Virginia handled over 2.7 million TEUs in FY 2020, making them the third largest port on the East Coast of the United States. The port has strong shipping connections with Europe and Asia, handling all types of cargo including mineral fuel, oil, wood, food, wood pulp, plastics, fertilizers, paper, iron, steel, rubber, organic chemicals, and many more. Approximately one-third of the cargo enters and departs by rail, the largest percentage of any port on the East Coast. The Port of Virginia is also one of 17 Strategic Seaports for military mobilization support. Norfolk Harbor also serves as home to the Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world.

A General Reevaluation Report for the Norfolk Harbor Navigation Channels was completed in June 2018 recommending portions of the project to be deepened and widened to allow 2-way traffic. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined that the harbor expansion, both deepening and widening, will have a benefit-to-cost ratio of 5.3 to 1, returning more than $5 in national economic benefits for each dollar invested. This investment is critically important not only for the Commonwealth of Virginia, but also the continued economic growth and security of the nation.