Getting Around In Norfolk

Norfolk, Virginia is very much a city based upon getting things from one place to another place. The Navy base specializes in moving military hardware and sailors from one end of the globe to the other and the port moves vast quantities of cargo in corrugated plastic containers from nearby factories onto container ships or vice versa. If you're going to be living in Norfolk, chances are you won't stay at your apartment for the rest of your life, so we thought you might appreciate it if we compiled a quick guide to how to get around the region.

Sea

As a port town and a Navy base, most of Norfolk's transit comes and goes by sea. Naval Station Norfolk handles all the military traffic while the container port handles the majority of the cargo transit. The Intracoastal Waterway passes through the city and it has pier facilities along both Hampton Roads Bay and the Elizabeth River. Many of them belong to commercial outfits specializing in valve repair for container ships, but there are also numerous civilian yacht clubs as well as facilities for ships embarking and disembarking passengers. There are also passenger ferries that link Norfolk with nearby cities like Portsmouth and Newport News.

Road

As part of the Eastern Seaboard, which was the earliest developed part of the United States, Norfolk has had a long time to build road links with other cities along the coast. It's easy, therefore, for marketing managers of Norfolk firms to nip up and down the highways seeking out MLM leads and meeting with potential clients all through Virginia and the east. The major east-west highways are Interstate 64 and U.S. Routes 58 and 60 while north-south transit is served by U.S. Routes 13 and 460. The Hampton Roads Beltway also makes a loop around the city and connects with four major interstate highways. The highway system is augmented by a large number of bridges and tunnels that connect Norfolk to its neighbors the short way, across the harbor.

Air

Air transport in Norfolk ranges from nuclear capable bomber aircraft equipped with radiation shielding that operate out of Norfolk Naval Air Station to small private planes based at Chesapeake Regional Airport outside the city. Most civilian passenger air travel either goes through Norfolk International Airport or Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport. Norfolk International is near the border with neighboring Virginia Beach and acts as a base for 7 airlines which move 3,700,000 people and 68, 700,000 tons of cargo annually.

Public Transit

People who have a low-paying job stocking shelves at a woodworking machinery supplier in the industrial district and live in an inexpensive apartment in midtown may not have enough money to afford the upkeep on a car. For these people as well as for the environmentally-minded, Norfolk is part of the Hampton Roads Transit system, which operates regular and handicapped bus routes throughout Norfolk and the surrounding cities, all the way to Williamsburg. There is also a shuttle to and from the Navy base as well as a trolley that serves downtown. Light rail is also currently under construction.