Warner, Kaine announce $20 million for Port of Virginia expansion

The Virginia Port Authority will receive $20,184,999 in federal funds to complete its Central Rail Yard expansion project at Norfolk International Terminals.

This funding will build on the investments the Port has made across its two largest terminals, the NIT and Virginia International Gateway, to expand on-terminal rail capacity at NIT.

“The Port of Virginia is a major economic engine for the entire Commonwealth,” Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said in a joint statement. “These federal funds will support an important expansion at the Port that will increase the Port’s competitiveness and efficiency and allow it to continue to serve manufacturers and farmers in Virginia and across the country.”

The Port of Virginia is a major gateway for U.S. inland and Midwest markets. The Port handles a higher percentage of rail cargo than any other port on the East Coast.

Thirty-four percent of the cargo processed at the Port arrives and departs via rail.

This grant supports the construction of two new rail bundles containing four tracks each, in addition to a center working area for transferring and staging containers. Associated lead-in tracks will incorporate turnouts and switches from the terminal’s main rail line and vehicle crossings.

Additionally, the project will create a return access road that will separate rail dray traffic returning to the container yard from general truck traffic.

The NIT CRY expansion project would double the 368,000 annual container capacity of the existing CRY. The new rail bundles are projected to generate $112.1 million in total economic benefits.

The funding was awarded through the 2020 Port Infrastructure Development Discretionary Grants Program at the U.S. Department of Transportation. In May, Warner and Kaine joined the entire Virginia congressional delegation in a letter to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, advocating for the project.

Additionally, in August, Sen. Warner again wrote to the Secretary in support of the funding that was announced this week.