PORTUGEE ROAD

NAME: Portugee Road
COUNTY: USA
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 5
CLIMATE: Slightly hot in summer, slighty cold in winter
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime
COMMENTS: My uncle told me the story of this place when I was 13 and I did'nt believe it until I saw it. The story goes that during WWII the US was worried that the Germans would try to bomb US airports- SO the USarmy built a fake town just east of Richmond Internation Airport (then called Bryd Airport). Then town is strange to see. It consistes of roads, sidewalks, driveways that lead to nothing, streetlights, sewer covers, mailboxes, even the ocasionall park bench. It also had a runway with landing lights. All the lights were designed to be turned on in case of an air-raid and at the same time, the real airport and all of Richmond would blacked out in the hopes that the Germans would bomb the fake town.NO one seems to care about visitors there anymore. To get there, find Richmond Internation Airport just east of Richmond. On the east end of the airport property you will find Portugue Road. Follow it down hill through and wooded residential area until you come to a dirtroad the extends deeper into the woods. There is a gate but no one seems to care about visitors as it is never locked or attended.
REMAINS: See above

Research revealed very little about this place. Submitted by: Christopher Thompson

The abandoned airport is no longer there. It was replaced by the White Oak Semiconductor Plant in 1996. Two articles in the Richmond Times Dispatch, one on May 19, 1996 & the second on May 26, 1996, talk about it. domext

The old abandoned airport that you have listed at Portugee Road, Virginia was destroyed back in 1996. Henrico county knocked down the old WWII era mannequin airport and erected an Semiconductor plant in it's place. The White Oak semiconductor facility is now at the Portugee Road area just east of Richmond International Airport. Thank You, Jeff Roll Richmond, VA

1. "The Elko Tract is a 2,400-acre parcel located in eastern Henrico, about eight miles east of Richmond. It is located three miles from the Richmond International Airport and Interstate 295, and within two hours of Washington, D.C. and Hampton Roads. The Elko Tract was a decoy airfield built to protect the Richmond Army Base during World War II. At the end of the war, the federal government transferred the property to the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was zoned M-1 and M-3 (Industrial) from the 1950s < and there it was, sitting in the middle of nowhere < inadequate roads, no utilities and owned by the state. When the paths for Interstate Highways 64, 95, and 295 were chosen, the Elko Tract became more desirable, with sufficient access. Through legislation, the Virginia General Assembly formed the Surplus Property Commission. The Commission�s job was to decide which state-owned, economically developable properties might be transferred to localities. The Commission was encouraged to be creative in deciding methods of transferal. In all, Henrico County provided more than $40 million in infrastructure improvements to the Elko Tract, now renamed White Oak Technology Park. " -Pat O�Bannon. It appeared in the Fall 1998 issue of Virginia Capitol Connections magazine http://www.patobannon.com/iss7-1.html that led me to... 2. "On another issue, a roughly 2,500-acre parcel of State-owned land in Henrico County, Virginia, lay unused and unproductive for taxpayers for several decades. Our initiative with this land, known at the time as the Elko Tract, made it part of a partnership that had the potential to generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the State and locality. It's also a place where thousands of jobs have already been created. Thanks to this partnership with Henrico County and the surrounding business community, $30 million of infrastructure improvements were made to the property, enabling us to attract a semiconductor fabrication facility now know as Infineon." -Senator Allen Thursday, October 25, 2001 at Keynote Luncheon at the 14th Annual Conference http://www.ncppp.org/inthenews/allenspeech.html and finally to... 3. Infineon Technologies Richmond was founded in 1996 as White Oak Semiconductor, a joint venture between Infineon Technologies (formerly the Siemens Semiconductor group) and Motorola. In April 2000, Infineon Technologies, purchased Motorola's interest and White Oak Semiconductor officially joined the Infineon Technologies family. In January 2001, White Oak Semiconductor changed its name and became known as Infineon Technologies Richmond. http://www.whiteoaksemi.com/

Here is another link to a site regarding this town

http://www.thewag.net/divertissements/Elko/elko_followup.html

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