Editorial: Federal infrastructure windfall benefits Norfolk, Hampton Roads
The city of Norfolk — and, by extension, all of Hampton Roads — received welcome news this week with the release of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ annual work plan. It includes funding for two critical projects that will better protect residents from rising seas and boost the economy through the Port of Virginia.
The Army Corps announced Tuesday that it would spend $250 million to complete design work and begin construction on Norfolk’s Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, a comprehensive approach involving barriers, floodwalls and other measures to protect the city from rising sea levels and recurrent flooding.
All told that project is expected to cost $1.6 billion, with $1.04 billion designated as federal spending from Washington. This investment gives an immediate push to that work and should mean that Norfolk residents see flood protection sooner.
The Corps also announced it would provide $69 million to complete the widening and dredging of the Norfolk harbor channel, a project that’s been years in the making and which will allow the Port to maintain its competitive advantage with other East Coast shipping facilities.
That’s nearly $320 million — transformational money — which represents an enormous investment in the future of Norfolk and Hampton Roads. The flood project will ensure the future viability of low-lying, flood-threatened neighborhoods and critical infrastructure, while the channel project is fuel for one of the region’s most powerful economic engines, the Port of Virginia.
Norfolk has been hit hard several times in recent years, with hurricanes and nor’easters causing serious flooding. And, as people who live, work and try to drive here know, thunderstorms, rainy periods and unusually high tides can also damage homes and businesses, disrupt traffic and endanger people.
The city is also home to the largest naval base in the world as well as other military installations, making it a community vital to national security. Investing in flood protection here is an investment in national defense.
And, as we often say, the problem gets worse with each passing day. No Hampton Roads community can afford to wait when it comes to resilience projects.
In celebrating this windfall, Hampton Roads should make clear to give credit where it is due: to those members of Virginia’s congressional delegation who, along with state and local leaders, lobbied relentlessly for this funding.
Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with Reps. Bobby Scott and Elaine Luria, sent a letter in December asking the U.S. Army Corps and the Office of Management and Budget to make available at least $60 million for the flooding project — but that was the latest in a series of requests for funding.
That request and others like it across the country were viewed more favorably this year, thanks to passage of the $1 trillion federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November. That measure, the largest federal infrastructure spending bill in history, promises to make needed, generational investments in communities such as Norfolk.
Warner helped negotiate the deal in the Senate, and voted for it along with Kaine, Luria, Scott and U.S. Rep. Don McEachin. In doing so, those lawmakers worked to secure a better future for Norfolk and the region. They deserve our appreciation.
U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman joined the rest of the commonwealth’s Republican congressional delegation and voted against the bill. Thankfully, their opposition didn’t scuttle legislation that will mean big things for Norfolk and Hampton Roads.
It is a shame that a measure with so much potential to improve American communities couldn’t muster greater unity in Congress. It’s also not much of a surprise. Political polarization too often impedes the sort of progress that, in this case, will keep Norfolk residents safe and help grow the regional economy.
We should be grateful that this time Washington’s disfunction didn’t smother a bill that will bring lasting and needed change to our region. Investment in the flood and channel projects is a massive win for Norfolk, the region and the commonwealth, and every Virginian should celebrate it.
