NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — In an ongoing effort to deliver a better service at a lower cost, the United States Postal Service continues to make not only operational changes in how mail moves, but also investments in new technology.

For more than 40 years, most mail from Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina made its way through the sprawling 187,000-square-foot Norfolk processing and distribution facility off Church Street in Norfolk.

But beginning in 2023, operations changed as the 1980-built building became home to a sortation and delivery center and a local processing center.

The change is all a part of the service’s Delivering for America plan, but it hasn’t been without is rough points.

Packages to and from Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina now all head up Interstate 64 to the regional processing and distribution center in Richmond.

An inspector general found that the process initially led to a decrease in service performance. However a follow up report found service times are improving.

“I believe that the anytime that there’s change, there’s always a little bit of a learning curve,” said Philip Bogenberger, a spokesperson for USPS. “And with that learning curve yields long-term benefits, decades-long benefits.”

Collin Stefanowicz, manager of sorting and delivery center strategy and optimization at the U.S. Postal Service, said new technology not only saves time but also ensures that mail gets to exactly where it needs to go.

“So [the] sorting and delivery center is on the delivery side,” Stefanowicz said, “so our emphasis is on sorting mail down to the carrier level or to the office level in some cases, and our transfer hubs and getting that mail moved in a local area.”