The Port of Virginia in Hampton Roads is the largest intermodal rail port on the East Coast, and currently stands as the 7th busiest port in the US, handling 2.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) every year. Changes are coming that will see the port’s capacity increase and allow it to challenge for a spot among the top five US ports.

The port has a yearly economic impact of nearly $100 billion for Virginia, and employs (directly and indirectly) nearly 400,000 people, as many as a medium-sized city has. In comparison, the state’s largest single non-military employer is Dollar Tree, at 176,000 employees.

Along with more than a billion dollars of investments in capacity improvements at the two major terminals (Norfolk International Terminals and Virginia International Gateway) in the form of more cranes and greater rail capacity, the port has been dredging its channels since 2016 to make it deeper and thus more accessible. By 2024 it will be the deepest port on the East Coast at 55 feet.

To help get cargo to and from the port by road, the state in November finished the third phase of a project that has so far added 126 lane miles to Interstate 64, significantly reducing congestion. The project represents an $850 million investment to this point, and a fourth phase may soon follow.

The port is also taking on new roles. Not long ago we told you how Siemens Gamesa has leased 80 acres at the harbor to locate their offshore wind turbine blade factory, manufacturing blades for use around the continent and particularly right here at our new Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, off the coast of Virginia Beach.

Now, the 111 acres of Lambert’s Point Docks will become a maritime operations and logistics center to support wind and other industries. The installation will be called Fairwinds Landing and will cost $100 million, and the facility should create up to 500 new jobs. Construction begins later this year.

In order to break into the top five in cargo handling, the port would need to surpass the Port of Houston (2.9 million TEU in 2020) and The Northwest Seaport Alliance in Tacoma and Seattle (3.3 million TEU in 2020). The developments underway and coming at the harbor could mean we’re on track to do so in the next decade—if not this one.