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TRANSPORTATION HISTORY Antebellum Richmond's transportation history dates to the early 17th century. The Virginia Colony , established at Jamestown in 1607, was dependent upon the waterways as avenues of commerce. Along the river, the James River Plantations such as John Rolfe 's Varina Farms had their own Wharf s on the River s. Located east of the Fall Line , they were soon shipping Tobacco and other Export crops abroad. The two cities which became the modern City of Richmond were first established as Port s on the north and south banks of the James River due to their location at the Head Of Navigation on the Fall Line . The ports at the head of navigation became transfer points, and Richmond and its former neighbor Manchester became points for Canal s which were built to bypass the falls and rapids and connect with navigable waters upstream. Transfer to and from watercraft was also undertaken as land transportation developed in the form of Turnpike s and Railroad s. The first Stagecoach lines to Richmond were established during the War Of 1812 , and the first regular Steamboat service began on the James River in 1815. Early the 19th century, the Virginia Board Of Public Works began funding transportation infrastructure improvements, stimulating such private enterprises as the James River And Kanawha Canal , the Chesterfield Railroad , and numerous Turnpikes . By 1855, Richmond had railroads extending in many directions. Long championed in the Virginia General Assembly by Whitmell P. Tunstall , the Richmond And Danville Railroad was completed in 1854. Others included the Virginia Central Railroad , Richmond And Petersburg Railroad . The predecessor to the Richmond, Fredericksburg And Potomac Railroad was complete north to Potomac Creek, where it connected with steamship service via the Chesapeake Bay to Alexandria , Baltimore , and beyond. Civil War, Reconstruction, streetcars During the American Civil War , when Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States Of America , Richmond's railroads and connections to the other southern states were crucial to its support. Defenses at Drewry's Bluff blocked the Union Navy from access to Richmond (and its sister city Manchester) via the river. The rail connections through Petersburg were the key links which Union General Ulysses S. Grant sought to sever during the Siege Of Petersburg in 1864- 65 . The fall of Petersburg in April 1865 necessitated the evacuation of Richmond by Jefferson Davis and the Confederate cabinet. The Civil War effectively ended with the surrender during General Robert E. Lee 's retreat a week later. After the Civil War, Richmond's (and Manchester's) transportation infrastructure was quickly rebuilt, and improvements and expansion resumed. Virginia State Engineer Claudius Crozet 's innovative Tunnel s under the Blue Ridge Mountains became a key portion of Collis P. Huntington 's Chesapeake And Ohio railroad linking eastern Virginia to the Ohio River Valley which was completed in1873. By 1881, Pocahontas Coal was riding the rails from the mountains eastbound for export via the C&O through Richmond to Coal Pier s at Newport News on the harbor of Hampton Roads . The James River And Kanawha Canal was conveyed to Major James H. Dooley 's Richmond And Allegheny Railroad by a deed dated March 4 , 1880 . Railroad construction workers promptly started laying tracks on the towpath creating a new water-level rail route which was soon purchased by the C&O. Richmond had the first successful electrically-powered Street Railway system in the United States. Designed by electric power pioneer, Frank J. Sprague , the trolley system opened its first line in January, 1888. Richmond's hills, long a transportation obstacle, were considered an ideal proving ground. The new technology soon replaced Horsecar s. As part of a national trend, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the electrically-powered Street Railway systems accelerated Richmond's expansion. To generate traffic and fuel sales of property, Amusement Park s were created at the end of the lines at Lakeside Park, Westhampton Park (now University Of Richmond ), and Forest Hill Park. Rails of Interurban Streetcar services formed a suburban network from Richmond extending north to Ashland and south to Chester , Colonial Heights , Petersburg and Hopewell . Another interurban route ran east along the Nine Mile Road and terminated at the National Cemetery at Seven Pines at the end of the Nine Mile Road , where many Union Civil War dead were interred. The area's Streetcar Suburb s included Highland Park , Barton Heights , Ginter Park , Woodland Heights , and Highland Springs . 20th century: Union stations, consolidation, bridges, expressways A major issue for Manchester and Richmond residents in the 19th and early 20th century were the Toll Bridge s over the James River. In 1910, Manchester agreed to a political consolidation with the much larger Independent City of Richmond. Richmond's better-known name was used for both areas as it contained the location of Virginia's state capital. Key features of the consolidation agreement were requirements that a "free bridge" across the James River be maintained indefinitely. Instead of barrier between neighboring cities, under the consolidation, the James River became the centerpiece of the expanded Richmond. Supplementing the two free bridges near the downtown area (Mayo and Ninth Street Bridges), several additional Toll Bridge s were constructed to the west, notably the Westham Bridge in 1911, the Boulevard Bridge in 1927, and the four-lane Robert E. Lee Memorial Bridge in 1934. As roads improved in the early 20th century, streetcars were unable to compete with Automobile s and the greater efficiencies of Bus es. The Richmond-Petersburg area's interurban streetcar services were gone by 1939, replaced by buses. The last streetcars ran in 1949 on the Highland Park line when they were also replaced by buses. Two new Union Railroad Station s opened in Richmond during the first two decades of the 20th century. The only railroad continuing its own passenger station became the Southern Railway , with its Hull Street Station in Manchester. In 1901, Richmond's Main Street Station was built by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and the Chesapeake And Ohio Railway . It was designed by the Philadelphia firm of Wilson, Harris, And Richards in the French Renaissance style. A new Broad Street Station was built in 1917 by the Richmond, Fredericksburg, And Potomac Railroad . Broad Street Station has a huge facility, serving several railroads, notably the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad . Designed in the Neoclassical style by the architect John Russel Pope , passenger service to the station ceased in 1975. The station then became the home of the Science Museum Of Virginia , which remains in the substantially remodeled and expanded building. Hull Street Station is also a Museum in modern-times, but after being idle and in other uses for many years, Main Street Station saw Amtrak service restored in 2003. In 1927, the dedication of Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field (later known as Byrd Airport, and now Richmond International Airport) included a visit by aviator Charles Lindbergh . The airport was named after Richard E. Byrd , the famous American polar explorer, who was the brother of Governor Harry F. Byrd . Also in 1927, Virginia's State Highway Department, the predecessor of the Virginia Department Of Transportation (VDOT), was formed. By World War II , a network of highways linked Richmond and the surrounding region with other communities and other states. After World War II , with only four traffic lanes and long stretches of undivided roadway, the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway it became a major area of traffic congestion, as well as the site of occasional spectacular and deadly head-on collisions. In 1955, prior to the creation of the U.S. Interstate Highway System , the Virginia General Assembly created the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority as a state agency to administer the new Turnpike of the same name. The new Toll Road was planned with only 15 exits, and most of these were well away from the highly developed commercial areas along parallel U.S. 301. The Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike opened in 1958, and soon was granted the Interstate 95 designation through Richmond. Local automobile commuters could buy booklets of toll tickets that cost about 8 cents per toll plaza. The full (non-commuter) rate was 25 cents per mainline toll plaza, increased to 50 cents in March 1989, with lower amounts at some exits. In 1989, the exit toll plazas in the City of Richmond at the I-95/I-64/I-195 Bryan Park interchange and at VA-161 Boulevard were removed, thereby making toll-free the I-95 portion of the Turnpike north of Boulevard. The former Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike became completely toll-free on July 1, 1992. The Richmond Metropolitan Authority was formed in 1966 by the General Assembly. The RMA was "a small state agency that was empowered to design, acquire right-of-way, construct, operate, collect tolls, and maintain the Richmond Expressway System." {Link without Title} Eventually, the RMA built and opened the Powhite Parkway in 1973, and the Downtown Expressway in 1976 as Toll Road s. The RMA also acquired the Boulevard Bridge. In addition to operating and maintaining three of Richmond's toll roads and bridges, the RMA also built a downtown parking deck, operated commuter buses for a time, and owns The Diamond , a sports stadium. VDOT built the Powhite Extension ( VA-76 ) located in Chesterfield County as a separate toll road which opened in 1988. The public bus systems which had replaced the local and interurban streetcars were operated by Public Service Companies , and were dependent upon passenger fares. As ridership plummeted in the second half of the century, Urban-suburban Bus Line s began to fail financially. By the early 1970s, only a few suburban lines were left, notably including Bon Air Transit Company extending to the suburb of Bon Air in Chesterfield County and Fairfield Transit Company , extending to Seven Pines in eastern Henrico County . The inner city company, Virginia Transit Company, was converted to become the government-owned Greater Richmond Transit (GRTC) in 1972. The last privately-owned suburban service, the Mechanicsville Bus Line , operated by Virginia Overland Transportation , ended service in June 2004. Greyhound Lines and the National Trailways Bus System consolidated services formerly in downtown Richmond at a new terminal near the Boulevard exit of I-95 and I-64 in the 1980s. Early in the 21st century, the trend of route reductions which began in the 1950s was continuing. Toll roads and Smart Tags The Boulevard Bridge introduced commuter passes to Richmond in the form of annual permits. These initially took the form of special "topper" (add-on) license plate strips; windshield decals were used later. As stated above, much of I-95 was built as the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike , a Toll Road . Commuters could purchase (much) lower cost passage, leading to local humor to the effect that through traffic from out-of-state was paying for the road, a position founded in some truth. On June 1, 1987, the Richmond Metropolitan Authority (RMA) introduced Toll Tokens for use on the Powhite Parkway and the Downtown Expressway. In 1994, The RMA and . Today, the following toll roads exist in the Richmond area, and their tolls can all be paid for using Smart Tag/EZ Pass.
Sources for this section: [http://www.rmaonline.org/About/history_of_the_rma.htm [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Tag] HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES Interstate highways, expressways Richmond has an extensive network of Interstate Highway s. The major east-west route is Interstate 64 (I-64), and the major north-south route is Interstate 95 (I-95). Three-digit Interstates are Interstate 195 (I-195, Beltline Expressway ) and Interstate 295 (I-295). Another planned route, Interstate 895 (I-895) is currently signed as VA-895 and operated as Toll Road under an innovative Public-private Partnership . It is also known as the Pocahontas Parkway . The Richmond area does not officially have a beltway. However, it has two roads which effectively form portions of a beltway, although they do not completely encircle Richmond. These are Interstate 295 in the northwest, northern, and eastern portions, and Virginia State Highway 288 (VA-288) in the southwest and western areas. The Richmond Metropolitan Authority operates the Downtown Expressway and the Powhite Parkway which are Toll Road s. Virginia State Highway 76 , a toll road known as the Powhite Parkway Extension, reaches southwest into Chesterfield County between Chippenham Parkway ( VA-150 ) and VA-288, the World War II Veterans Memorial Highway . U.S. highways Major U.S. highways in the Richmond area:
State highways The Richmond area has state highways and secondary routes, some of which are state-designated Virginia byways. A partial listing of Virginia State Highways include:
Major bridges The James River bisects the metropolitan area. It enters from the west, but turns due south at downtown Richmond for about 8 miles, before it turns east again. From the west, the bridges across the James River are:
LOCAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION Transit bus and paratransit systems Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) is the local publicly-funded provider of Transit Bus and Paratransit services. Local passenger rail Although no services of these types are currently operational, Richmond is working on plans for a small Heritage Streetcar System in the downtown area. No other local rail services are currently planned. Taxicabs, airport limousine, paratransit Richmond has numerous Taxicab operators, mostly operated as small businesses. A contractor, Groome Transportation, provides limousine service for individuals and groups between the airport and points in the Richmond area and beyond, including other major airports. several companies offer wheelchair-accessible Paratransit service to individuals and small groups. INTERCITY BUS SERVICES Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines and Carolina Trailways . RAILROADS Passenger rail Richmond is served by passenger rail service provided by Amtrak , with two railroad stations. Each station receives regular service from north of Richmond from Washington, DC , Philadelphia , and New York . The suburban ''Staples Mill Road Station'' is located on a major north-south freight line and receives all service to and from all points south including, Raleigh , Durham , Savannah , Newport News , Williamsburg and Florida . The historic and recently renovated Main Street Station near downtown Richmond only receives trains bound for Newport News and Williamsburg at this time, due to its track layout. As a result, the Staples Mill Road station receives more service overall. The Department of Rail and Public Transportation of the State of Virginia has studies underway for extending high speed passenger rail service to the Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads areas, as well as a rail connections in Virginia to both the Northeast Corridor and the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor . The Transdominion Express would serve a large portion of the south central regions of the state. Freight railroads Richmond is served by two major Class I Railroad s, Norfolk Southern and CSX . The city is also served by the Buckingham Branch Railroad , the state's largest Short Line Railroad . AIR Richmond is served by a major commercial Airport and several smaller General Aviation facilities. Richmond is served by the Richmond International Airport , located in nearby Sandston , seven miles southeast of Richmond and within an hour drive of historic Williamsburg, Virginia , RIC airport is served by seven airlines with non-stop flights to 21 destinations and connecting flights to destinations worldwide. In 2004, the airport served approximately 2.5 million passengers. General Aviation service is available at Richmond International and Chesterfield County Airport, located near the intersection of Virginia State Highways 10 and 288 near Chesterfield Court House, Virginia , and Hanover County Airport near Ashland. PORTS AND WATERWAYS The Port Of Richmond (locally known as Deepwater Terminal ) offers deep water connections on the navigable portion for the James River east to Hampton Roads , known as the "world's greatest natural harbor", which is located only 18 miles from the Atlantic Ocean . Shipping to other points on the Chesapeake Bay is also possible. The extant canals of Richmond are no longer used for shipping. However, several portions downtown are used as part of the Canal Walk , and upstream, portions are used as part of the water systems of the city and counties. A set of locks is located in a small park just east of the downtown area near Tobacco Row . EXTERNAL LINKS
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