Where to Buy Cheap Gas in Norfolk, Virginia

As of July 16, 2009, Norfolk and Hampton Roads gas prices largely trend towards the $2.30 mark, which dramatically undercuts the Department of Energy's $2.528 average statistic for this time frame. United States gas prices generally radiate upwards away from the vast crude oil reserves and refining capacity of the Gulf Coast.

Virginia's 7 Cities do benefit from the port side transportation at Hampton Roads, Yorktown oil refining facilities, and Richmond's miserly 19.1-cent per gallon gas tax policy. According to the American Petroleum Institute, Virginians pay the eleventh lowest charges at the pump in terms of total municipal duties.

The Commonwealth beyond Northern Virginia is a boon for cheap gas. Of course, Hampton Roads motorists must acknowledge the fact that New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles drivers would incite full fledge rioting pertaining to any Virginian crying Uncle over $2.40 regular unleaded.

Although Norfolk remains the geographic focal point of the Hampton Roads area, near-term commercial and residential development has shunned the old city in favor of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Suffolk. Norfolk, Portsmouth, and East End Newport News on the peninsula have emerged as colloquial terms, which translate into crime, blight, and outright decay.

Norfolk's lower property values that have arrived part and parcel with said rhetoric have effectively catapulted the locale into the Tidewater's primary destination for cheap gas. This status is quite convenient, considering the fact that legions of Virginians commute into downtown Norfolk for work, prior to returning home to the Southern style sprawl of Suffolk and Virginia Beach.

The City of Norfolk is the perfect storm to buy cheap gas, and this guide will prove that saving gasoline money on the South Side is more so a function of which areas to avoid, than that of mining limited oases of affordable fuel.

Where NOT to Buy Gas in Norfolk, Virginia

Gas prices will spike at the opposite ends of Norfolk. Smart consumers will shun buying relatively expensive fuel at Hampton Boulevard between Old Dominion and the Ghent district, and east of the I-64 Hampton Roads Beltway (Outer Loop) into Virginia Beach.

Interestingly, both areas feature variations of "Hampton" Boulevard, in terms of VA 337 and U.S. 13 / Northampton Boulevard.

Property values, sprawl, and the cost of doing business immediately spike east of the I-64 / Beltway (Outer Loop). For example, Citgo, Shell, and various independent wholesalers are flashing $2.24 at Norfolk's U.S. 13 / Military Highway. However, prevailing rates surge by roughly 15 cents towards $2.40 at U.S. 13 / Northampton Boulevard due northeast of the 64 exits into Virginia Beach.

Hampton Roads veterans bound for Norfolk must never purchase gasoline at any Virginia Beach service station directly to the east of I-64 (Outer Loop). Military Highway between the Beltway and I-264 is the more suitable option to save money on gas.

Meanwhile, Ghent is a mixed-use neighborhood that is often cited alongside U.S. 60's Ocean View as Norfolk's only havens for the middle class outside of downtown. Hampton Boulevard is the main drag into the area, and facilitates traffic flow between the Naval Base, downtown, and Portsmouth.

Shell and BP franchisees occupy opposite ends of the ODU campus at 4902 and 3708 Hampton Boulevard, respectively, to hawk expensive gas.

Norfolk residents will discover that gas prices plunge across the Lafayette River and into the Naval Base perimeter via Hampton Boulevard.

Where to Buy Cheap Gas in Norfolk, Virginia

7 Cities drivers will buy cheap gas at the Norfolk Naval Base. Servicemen, aircraft carriers, railroads, industrial warehouses, and light population density dominate this military zone. Hampton Roads Bridge - Tunnel traffic bypasses the area and the rarely used I-564 serves as a connecting spur between the Base and Greater Hampton Roads.

Wa Wa and Dodge's are both peddling outrageously cheap $2.19 regular gas at the intersection of Hampton Boulevard and Woodview Avenue leading onto the Naval facility.

Navy Exchange (NEX) gas stations do line the Bellinger Boulevard cutoff for $2.20, but these locations are generally limited to military personnel.

Happy Trails.

Where to Buy Cheap Gas in Norfolk, Virginia, Sources:

The City of Norfolk, http://www.norfolk.gov/

The State of Virginia, http://www.virginia.gov/cmsportal3/

Norfolk Gas Prices, http://www.virginiabeachgasprices.com/Norfolk_-_East/index.aspx