Shipping Containers for Sale in Chesapeake, VA

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Drivers in Chesapeake could soon notice higher toll rates after a close City Council vote Tuesday. Council voted 5-4 to approve changes to two tolled roads within the Chesapeake Transportation System: the Chesapeake Expressway and the Dominion Boulevard Veterans Bridge.

Mayor Rick West, Vice Mayor Debbie Ritter, and council members Jeff Bunn, Jeff Jefferies, and Les Smith voted in favor of the toll increases, while council members Ella Ward, Amanda Newins, Dr. Patricia King, and Daniel Whitaker voted against.

For the Chesapeake Expressway, annual fees for E-ZPass users who are enrolled in the Discount Toll Program at the Chesapeake Expressway will double from $35 to $70.

To join the Chesapeake Expressway Discount Program, the only qualifications that need to be met are having a valid Virginia E-ZPass account and paying the membership fee. There are no residency or income requirements for this program.

Watch related: Hampton Roads bridges and tunnels face toll increases

Discount program users will also pay more on peak summer weekends, going from $1.00 to $2.25 per trip. Those peak weekends cover 17 Saturdays and Sundays from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Those changes take effect May 1.

On the Dominion Boulevard Veterans Bridge, drivers of two-axle cars who pay by plate — instead of using E-ZPass — will see an 8-cent increase, bringing their toll from $3.55 to $3.63. For more information on toll rates on the Dominion Boulevard Veterans Bridge for other vehicles, click here.

E-ZPass rates on Dominion Boulevard are not changing, and roughly 85% of drivers on that road use E-ZPass. Those changes take effect July 1.

Mary Rice, a Hampton Roads realtor who says she spends much of her workday driving across Chesapeake, tells News 3 that she's concerned about the increases.

"Over half of my day is spent going to appointments in different cities and meeting people, checking on listings, showing homes, going to home inspections," she said.

Chesapeake Neighborhood News Reporter Erin Holly asked Chesapeake Mayor Rick West why the increases are being implemented. He says the changes are necessary to cover the costs of maintaining the roads and paying back borrowed money used to build them.

Watch related: Elizabeth River toll rates increase in 2026

"For every road, there's always a maintenance cost. And for these roads, the city borrowed money and they have to pay those loans back and so that's why the increase," West said.

For neighbors who use these roads daily, like Rice, every cent counts.

"I feel like a lot of families feel nickel and dimed in this economy, and so that's just one more expense that might not seem large, but it all really adds up," she said.

Standard toll rates on the Chesapeake Expressway are not changing, and the overall Chesapeake Transportation System toll rate schedule has been extended through 2046.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

The New Year has brought competing menhaden bills in Virginia’s General Assembly. On the one hand, Sen. Richard Stuart (R-Westmoreland) has introduced SB-414, calling for the Commonwealth to withdraw its membership in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which coordinates coastal fishery management among the fifteen Atlantic States. Passage of that bill would remove the obligation to reduce the industrial menhaden harvest significantly.

On the other hand, three proposed bills would strengthen menhaden science, specifically focused on the fishes’ presence in the Chesapeake, better distribute menhaden catches in Virginia waters through the season (May-December), begin an observer program aboard industrial-scale menhaden purse seiners to ensure compliance with regulations, and establish a pause on industrial menhaden fishing in the Bay while the Commonwealth undertakes research.

The last three proposals result from increasing fears about purse netting of menhaden for industrial “reduction”, spurred particularly by studies that appear to show osprey chicks dying of starvation in areas where menhaden are the primary forage their parents catch for them. In addition, watermen in both Virginia and Maryland have experienced dramatic declines in catches of menhaden for crab and sportfishing bait, primarily by pound netters. In Virginia, those watermen’s bait harvest dropped from 5.4 million pounds in 2019 to fewer than 1 million pounds in 2024, according to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

Packed with protein and calories from Omega-3 oils, menhaden are vital to the Bay’s food web in its saltier waters. Predators especially dependent on them include rockfish, speckled trout, red drum, ospreys, gannets, loons, and dolphins. Even so, Reedville’s Omega Protein and the company’s local fishing partner, Ocean Harvesters, take out about 70 percent of menhaden caught along the East Coast, all for “reduction” into products such as high-protein fishmeal for livestock feed and Omega-3 oils. That catch includes more than 100 million pounds from the Bay each year, even though these waters form a massive nursery for the species.

There has been concern for years that Omega’s concentrated fishery in the lower Bay (it’s prohibited in Maryland) is causing “localized depletion” here. Proving that condition scientifically is challenging for a fish that migrates up and down the coast, but it’s hardly impossible. In fact, at the Virginia General Assembly’s request, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and partners developed a preliminary plan for studying that issue, but industry lobbying has shut out its funding for the past several years. Meanwhile, a new calculation by fisheries scientists shows far fewer menhaden than previously thought along the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida. This year, Legislation under consideration in this session would provide much-needed accountability and additional conservation and protection. That includes Senate Bill 474 (patron Senator David Marsden), entitled Establishing a Menhaden Science Fund led by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Additional menhaden-related bills filed this year include:

There is strong public support for menhaden conservation in the Chesapeake. According to recent bipartisan polling, 92 percent of Virginia voters want to leave more menhaden in Chesapeake Bay, while 79 percent support ending large-scale menhaden fishing for a reduction in the Bay until better science shows it has minimal impact.

As Chesapeake moves forward with plans for a new elementary school. School board members meet to discuss the rezoning that is needed to balance enrollment.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The Chesapeake School Board met on January 26 to discuss the attendance rezoning of a new elementary school being opened in the Culpepper Landing neighborhood.

In this meeting, they revealed four elementary schools that are over capacity in that area: Cedar Road Elementary, Deep Creek Elementary, Deep Creek Central Elementary, and Grassfield Elementary. The new school aims to alleviate some of the capacity issues and foster healthy learning opportunities.

Chesapeake Mayor Rick West said this is one of his biggest goals.

“We value our school system; we value that it is one of the driving systems as to why people want to be here,” said West, “These schools are not just for educating children, but communities use them as well.”

The city's mayor said that these schools must be built and that staying in decades-old buildings isn’t cost-effective.

“It’s not just out of date, but there are really schools that were built 50 years ago, the roofs are leaking, and the expense of trying to update it just doesn’t make sense, so it’s time to replace schools,” said West.

With the addition of the new school comes rezoning, which changes the areas in which students attend certain schools.

Multiple options were presented during the school board meeting, but a decision has not been made. Follow-up meetings are planned to occur on February 23 and March 23, where parents and members of the community will be able to voice their concerns.

No date has been revealed as to when the Culpepper Landing school will open, but officials say it'll be in the fall of 2027.

A Nor’easter is expected to hammer parts of Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina with heavy winds and icy cold this weekend, but the National Weather Service has adjusted some expected snow totals downward across the region.

A winter storm warning is in effect through 7 p.m. Sunday for Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Newport News, Hampton and York County, as well as portions of northeastern North Carolina and areas to the west of Hampton Roads.

As of Saturday afternoon, the expected snow totals dropped in most of Hampton Roads. The weather service says Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and most of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach is likely to see 3-4 inches of snow.

Northeastern North Carolina is still expected to see the heaviest snow of the region — 7-9 inches or more.

Areas on the Peninsula are likely to receive less snow. The Williamsburg area is likely to see an inch over the weekend, the weather service said Saturday afternoon. Newport News and Hampton are likely to see 2-3 inches.

The highest totals are expected in the far south and southeast, with a sharp cutoff in totals to the north, the forecasters said. Totals could go from 1 inch to 6 inches in less than 50 miles.

National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Zimmerman said moisture was encountering dry air as it attempted to move north across the region Saturday afternoon.

“We should see some of that moving up, especially into southside Hampton Roads, as we get through the afternoon and evening hours here,” Zimmerman said.

Snow is likely to begin accumulating in Hampton Roads on Saturday afternoon, grow throughout the day and peak early Sunday morning, with snow ending later Sunday morning, according to the weather service.

Areas near southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina could see brief whiteout conditions late Saturday into Sunday.

“This one has so much cold air to work with in the entire column of the atmosphere that we’re looking at a very dry snow, very powdery, which is good for power lines and trees,” meteorologist Roman Miller said Friday. “Winds will potentially be an issue.”

Dominion Energy said Friday it was preparing for “thousands of potential outages” in Hampton Roads and the Outer Banks, said spokesperson Cherise M. Newsome.

In addition to the winter storm warning, the region is under a high wind warning from 7 p.m. Saturday to 4 p.m. Sunday, a cold weather advisory through 1 a.m. Sunday, an extreme cold watch from 1-10 a.m. Sunday, and a coastal flood watch from 4 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday.

The weather service gives Norfolk a 56% chance of at least 4 inches of snow — down significantly from earlier this week — and about 30-60% for the Peninsula and Eastern Shore. The likelihood of snow increases farther south into northeastern North Carolina — Elizabeth City has a 83% chance of seeing at least 4 inches.

The likelihood of 8 inches or more in most of Hampton Roads has dropped to low. Norfolk has a 21% chance of 8 inches. Parts of Virginia Beach have a slightly higher chance. The Peninsula is unlikely to see that much snow.

“Definitely prepare for strong wind gusts, especially right along the immediate coast,” Zimmerman said Thursday.

Maximum wind gusts could reach 58-60 mph in Corolla early Sunday morning. Gusts in Virginia Beach and Cape Charles also are expected to reach near 60 mph. Farther inland, winds will be in the mid-40 mph range, dropping down to the mid-30 mph range in the Williamsburg area.

Wind chills could hit negative degrees in parts of the region. The wind chill in Williamsburg could hit minus-2 degrees, while Hampton and Newport News could see 2 below. Norfolk and Portsmouth’s lowest wind chill projection is 0 while other areas of South Hampton Roads are likely to be in single digits.

With it being so cold, the snow is likely to linger “for a while,” Zimmerman said, adding that areas still dealing with ice from last weekend will have those impacts prolonged.

Tidal flooding could also have an impact Saturday night into Sunday. Moderate to major local tidal flooding is possible in vulnerable coastal areas, as is beach and dune erosion. Because of the cold, any tidal flooding could freeze on road surfaces.

Virginia Department of Transportation crews began pretreating state-maintained roadways on Thursday.

Due to forecasted strong winds, snow, and potential tidal impacts, the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry may suspend service at points during the storm, VDOT said in a news release.