Suffolk will receive $30 million in state funds for infrastructure improvements around a controversial development.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced funding for the Route 460 Road Improvement Project this week.
The project is part of Suffolk’s effort to shore up infrastructure near a planned 540-acre logistics center called Port 460. The center will include around 5 million square feet of warehouse space on Route 460 down the road from Nansemond-Suffolk Academy.
Among its plans, Suffolk aims to widen Route 460 from the Route 58 bypass to Lake Prince Drive and redesign the interchange.
The cost of infrastructure upgrades totals $86 million. Between the state dollars and earlier contributions by development partners, Mayor Mike Duman said the city is “almost halfway home.”
“More importantly, these types of projects kind of have a snowball effect,” he said. “It’s easier to go to the next level when you’ve already gotten funding from somebody before that.”
Matan, one of the development partners, touts the future Port 460 project as having “seamless” access to Norfolk, the Port of Virginia and “extensive connectivity to the major metropolitan areas of the Eastern Seaboard.”
That location has also been a sore spot for area residents.
Local opposition raised red flags about potential impacts to air and water quality as well as traffic. People created community organizations and online groups against Port 460. A lawsuit was filed to stop it from being built.
A judge dismissed that suit in 2023.
“Our investment in the Route 460 Road Improvement Project and Port 460 Logistics Center Development demonstrates our commitment to provide best-in-class infrastructure for Virginians, commerce and prospective businesses,” Youngkin said when announcing the state funding.
“Through the power of partnership, we’re expanding the Port’s operations and we’re accelerating a good growth engine for the Commonwealth.”
Duman said Suffolk is eyeing additional avenues to raise funds for the roadway improvements, including potential federal grants. He said the project is a rare opportunity to mitigate traffic congestion before it becomes a problem.
Council Member Roger Fawcett applauded Suffolk’s efforts to secure the allocation at a meeting.
He said there was “hardly a way we could afford” to do the project without those dollars.
