Transportation

Stafford County is located along Interstate 95, providing accessibility to major markets and more than two-thirds of the U.S population within a day’s drive.  With US Route 1 providing a parallel and alternate route, north-south travel couldn’t be more convenient.  With its central location between Virginia’s capital in Richmond and the nation’s capital, major national and international airports are also as close as 45 minutes away. 

Highways

Stafford County has nearly 600 miles of state-maintained roadways, including 16 miles along Interstate 95, 46 miles of primary roads, and approximately 550 miles of secondary roads.

• I-95 connects Stafford from north to south with interchanges located at mile markers 148, 143, 140, 136, and 133.
• US Route 17 passes through the southwest portion of Stafford, overlapping briefly with I-95.  Both I-66 and I-81 are easily accessed via US-17.
• US Route 1 provides additional north-south highway alternatives, running parallel to I-95.
• Virginia Route 3 offers east-west connections to US Route 301, as well as the Hampton Roads region.
• The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) maintains all primary and secondary roads in Stafford County.

Airports

Four major airports – three international and one national – are easily accessible from Stafford via major highways.  The Stafford Regional Airport, a general aviation airport, is also located in the County, off I-95 at exit 136.

National Airports

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA):  Accessible via Interstate 95 and just 45 minutes to the north, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is located in Arlington, VA just across the Potomac River from the Nation’s Capital.  Reagan National offers non-stop service to destinations within 1,250 miles of Washington, D.C., daily non-stop flights to 74 U.S. cities, and direct service to three Canadian cities on 12 domestic airlines. General aviation services are also available.

International Airports

Dulles International Airport (IAD):  Just 60 minutes to the north via Interstate 95/Interstate 495 (or US-17 to VA-28), Washington Dulles International Airport is located in Chantilly, VA.   Dulles offers daily non-stop service to 88 U.S. cities and direct service to 42 foreign cities on 23 international airlines.  In addition to commercial air service, 23 carriers offer air cargo service. The Dulles Airport is located in Foreign Trade Zone #137 and offers materials handling and warehousing services in 540,000 square feet of operations space.

Richmond International Airport (RIC):  Less than 60 minutes to the south via Interstate 95/Interstate-295, Richmond International Airport offers non-stop flights to major domestic destinations and connective service to points around the globe.  With eight air carriers operating daily passenger service, Richmond offers an easily accessible alternative to the bigger airports in Washington, DC and Baltimore.  RIC also handles approximately 85 million pounds of cargo annually, utilizing its more than 100,000 square feet of warehouse/office space and 1,000,000 square feet of ramp space.

Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI-Marshall):  Located 90 minutes to the northeast via Interstate 95 (or VA-3 to US-301), Baltimore International serves 40 passenger and cargo airlines.  Non-stop commercial flights to 69 domestic and 10 international destinations are offered daily from BWI-Marshall.

General Aviation

Stafford Regional Airport (RMN):  The 550-acre Stafford Regional Airport, adjacent to Interstate 95, is strategically, and conveniently, located within the fourth largest market in the U.S., just minutes from the Nation’s capital and other Northern Virginia business centers.  Located only 30 miles from the Capital Beltway at Exit 136 off I-95 in Stafford, this general aviation operation serves as a “reliever” airport given its close proximity to Washington metro area facilities.

The Stafford Regional Airport facility includes a 5000-foot by 100-foot instrument runway with full parallel taxiways, Jet-A and Av-Gas fuel storage facilities, and 25 acres of paved aircraft parking aprons.  The Stafford Regional facilities can accommodate 75,000 annual operations and 100 based aircraft, including corporate business jets, with gross weights up to 70,000 pounds and wing spans up to 80 feet.

For more information visit www.staffordairport.com.

Shannon Airport (EZF):  Located about 2 miles southeast of Fredericksburg, and offering a 2999-foot by 100-foot runway, Shannon Airport welcomes private and corporate aircraft.

Hartwood Air Field:  Located in western Stafford on the Stafford-Fauquier County line, this small recreational airstrip can accommodate private and corporate aircraft.

Deep Water Ports

Port of Richmond:  The Port of Richmond is Central Virginia's domestic and international multi-modal freight and distribution gateway on the James River.   Located 60 minutes south of Stafford via I-95, the Port of Richmond serves waterborne, rail and truck shippers throughout the Mid-Atlantic states.  PCI, the operator, provides stevedoring services on a full range of Supply Chain services including export packaging and transfer, and warehouse and inland distribution services. The Port handles containers, temperature-controlled containers, breakbulk, bulk, and neo-bulk cargo.

Centrally located on the East Coast, halfway between Maine and Florida, the Port of Richmond is in an area that has excellent, multi-modal transportation infrastructure.  In addition, 50% of the nation's consumers and manufacturing establishments are located within 750 miles of the Port.

Virginia Inland Port:  The Virginia Inland Port in Front Royal serves as an intermodal collection point for containers from West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and elsewhere.   Located 90 minutes northwest of Stafford via US-17 and I-66, this facility primarily handles import and export containerized and breakbulk cargos. 

Port of Virginia:  The Port of Virginia offers world-class shipping facilities and a schedule of approximately 2,500 sailings annually to over 250 ports in 100 foreign countries.  Just two hours southeast of Stafford County, via I-95 and I-64, the Port of Virginia offers one of the largest intermodal networks on the East Coast, handling 1.895 million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) in 2010, and moving more than 28% of its total business by rail.

The Port of Virginia features the best natural deepwater harbor on the East Coast, with its unobstructed, ice-free harbor, 50-feet-deep channels, and a location 18 miles from the open ocean. In addition, the Port features 20 shipping lines offering weekly service to Europe and Asia, and has the lowest pilferage rate on the East Coast. With its four marine terminals, the Port of Virginia is the third largest volume port on the East Coast in terms of general cargo (breakbulk and containerized cargo).

The Port of Virginia includes Newport News Marine Terminal (NNMT), APM Terminals (APM), Norfolk International Terminals (NIT), and Former Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) Site. 

Port of Baltimore:  Located about 2 hours northeast of Stafford via I-95 or VA-3 to US-301, the Port of Baltimore offers a deepwater terminal handling 50 million tons of cargo annually.

Rail Service

CSX:  CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries based in Jacksonville, FL, is one of the nation's leading transportation suppliers. The company’s rail and intermodal businesses provide rail-based transportation services including traditional rail service and the transport of intermodal containers and trailers.

Overall, the CSX Transportation network encompasses about 21,000 route miles of track in 23 states, including more than 2,000 miles of track in Virginia.  The East Coast’s primary north-south rail line bisects Stafford County, providing freight services to Stafford area businesses.  TRANSFLO terminals are also located in nearby Fredericksburg, offering the leading service for transloading of bulk commodities between rail cars and trucks in the Eastern U.S. and Canada.

Virginia Railway Express:  Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a transportation partnership between the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC).  VRE operates 30 commuter trains each weekday through Virginia on CSX tracks, providing commuter service to Washington, DC from Stafford’s two stations – Brooke (due east of Stafford Courthouse) and Leeland (in the Falmouth area of southeast Stafford).  Trains only run northbound in the morning and southbound in the evening. 

For more information on VRE services and schedules, please visit www.vre.org.

Amtrak:  Twenty-four Amtrak trains operate on CSX tracks in Virginia each day, with passenger service available from two nearby stations – Fredericksburg (FBG) and Quantico (QAN).  Both of these stations offer multiple daily departures in two classes of service – business and coach.  CSX worked closely with Virginia to initiate new round-trip service between Richmond and Washington in 2010.

Trucking & Freight Lines

Stafford businesses are served by more than 30 short and long-haul trucking companies, offering national, regional, and interstate carrier service.  Several of these carriers operate terminal facilities in Stafford including Estes Express, Wilson Trucking, Southeastern Freight, Consolidated Freightways and McLane Mid-Atlantic. 

A FedEx processing center is also located in Stafford County near the Stafford Regional Airport.