The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) is seeking $350 million from the state’s General Assembly to expand capacity at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) to handle growing volume.

Located in the Hampton Roads Harbor on 567 acres along the Elizabeth and Lafayette Rivers, NIT is the port authority’s largest terminal. The facility currently can handle about 1.4 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) annually; if the expansion funding is approved, it would be able to handle an additional 696,000 TEUs a year by 2019.

NIT has 6,630 feet of berthing space dredged to 50’ capable of handling 12,000 to 14,000 TEU vessels, served by 14 super post-panamax quay cranes.

The terminal is divided into three major sections: the 272-acre South Terminal, the 245-acre North Terminal, and the 50-acre Central Rail Yard, which is connected to the Norfolk Southern Railroad’s Heartland Corridor, allowing second-day double-stack service to Midwest markets.

The request for funding is part of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s infrastructure package to be presented to state lawmakers early next year. The money would come in the form of proceeds from bonds issued by the state in consultation with the VPA.

“The political will is there to invest in this port,” said Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne. “We see that as a cornerstone of the governor’s new Virginia economy.”