Port of Virginia adds truck reservation system at its largest terminal

The Port of Virginia on Thursday launched the initial phase of a trucker reservation system (TRS) at its largest terminal.

The TRS is an effort to manage truck flow volume at Norfolk International Terminals, the port’s largest marine terminal.

In the first  phase, motor carriers calling between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. Monday through Friday at the terminal will be required to have a reservation. Reservations also will be required for truckers visiting NIT between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Additional mandatory hours will be added in the future. Motor carriers can register at
www.propassva.com.

TRS will be added to the port’s Virginia International Gateway terminal in Portsmouth this summer.

“Container volumes at The Port of Virginia are growing, and it’s a trend that will continue,” John Reinhart, executive director and CEO of the port, said in a statement. “So as we begin to bring more capacity online, we must ensure flow at our gates throughout the entire day. Rush-hour is not efficient, but spreading out the truck volume across the day is, and we’ve developed an innovative, fair, easy and useful way of accomplishing that.”

The new reservation system will require motor carriers to make a reservation for a one-hour block. A 30-minute grace period will be extended on each side of the 30-minute block.