 The downtown area has a number of landmarks and architecturally interesting buildings, which for some time were mostly abandoned in favor of building new areas in the northwest areas of the city (a strategy aided by tax incentives in the postwar years).City leaders are working to bring new life into this area, by renovating and building new homes and attracting businesses.The completion of Interstate 664 restored the area to access and through traffic which had been largely rerouted with the completion of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel in 1958 and discontinuance of the Newport News-Norfolk ferry service at that time.