It’s been a long time coming, but the recent groundbreaking ceremony for the new transportation hub in Newport News is good news not only for that city but also for the entire Peninsula region.
With the groundbreaking, the project, already 10 years in the making, finally looks as though it will become reality. Planning started in 2010. Construction was originally supposed to get under way in 2016. There have been delays and more delays.
But when the new transportation hub is finally open — if all goes well, in the summer of 2022 — the long, painstaking process should prove worth it. Much of the delay happened because the concept of the project grew bigger and more ambitious. That made new site plans and environmental studies necessary.
There are good reasons for proceeding slowly and carefully when preparing to build something that will have a major impact for decades to come. Better to get it right from the beginning.
Now, the last major step — the actual building of the Newport News Transportation Center — is beginning.
For people in Newport News and the greater Peninsula area, the $47 million project should mean great improvements in passenger rail and public transit services, meaning people will have better options for transportation.
Those increased options and more frequent service should prove a boon for residents. For visitors, the center will be a gateway to Hampton Roads. The new flexibility and increased connections to other parts of the country will also be a boon for the many members of the military who travel through this area.
The new center will bring trains, buses, taxis and airport shuttles all together in a convenient location at Bland Boulevard between Warwick Boulevard and Interstate 64, less than a mile away from Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport.
The center will be larger and more modern than the existing Amtrak station 9 miles away in Newport News. That’s a much-needed improvement, because the Newport News station is already one of the most heavily used in Virginia. Last year, about 335,000 passengers traveled by train from Newport News to Washington.
Passengers will find that the new center has much to offer — more parking, up-to-date amenities and facilities that comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act so that more people can travel safely.
Unlike the present train station, the new center will be served by its own Amtrak line rather than a connector. That should mean that schedules will be more reliable.
All these improvements should make life easier for people who travel within the area and those who go through Newport News for air or rail travel into and out of the region.
Ideally, the convenience and efficiency of the new consolidated hub will also spur more people to take advantage of alternatives to driving their cars wherever they need to go.
Traffic on the highways in Newport News and the greater Hampton Roads area is often a nightmare, as anyone who drives the roads knows all too well. Bridges and tunnels often turn into bottlenecks. Delays and traffic jams are a fact of life that’s unlikely to improve unless more people become willing to try trains as an alternative to personal vehicles.
Cutting down on the number of cars on the roads should also help reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change. With rising sea levels and changing flood plains a real threat in Hampton Roads, making it easier to use public transportation is all the more important.
Other projects are being developed that should complement the new transportation center and promote rail travel in the region, including a third train to run between Newport News and Washington daily.
Like the new transportation center, these projects will take a lot of work and time to became reality. And like the new center, they should be a boon to the whole region.
