Great news from the governor’s office on Wednesday morning confirms what is becoming increasingly evident: Suffolk has become Ground Zero for the explosion of growth in the warehousing and distribution industry.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s announcement that Target will invest $50 million into its Suffolk import facility is further proof that the U.S. Route 58 corridor from the Suffolk Bypass to Holland will continue to be an attractive destination for companies looking for a site near the Port of Hampton Roads to locate their mid-Atlantic distribution hubs.

In fact, Target was one of the first to see the potential for that corridor, opening its Manning Road facility way back in 2003, long before CenterPoint had dreamed of the massive logistics park that now occupies much of the other side of Route 58 in that area. Long before Nexcom or Ace Hardware or California Cartage had discovered the convenience and affordability of a Suffolk distribution center, Target had the city in its sights.

But a lot can change in a dozen years, and not all of what has changed along the Route 58 corridor in Suffolk has been good. Traffic has increased, resulting in slower transport times for both trucks and cars — and, at least on a perceptual level, the safety of the road has been degraded.

Those factors could have resulted in Target choosing another location for its expanded distribution center. The fact that the company has chosen to stay, however, suggests its leaders have confidence the problems along Route 58 are likely to be solved before using that road for shipping becomes untenable. The fact that other companies continue to build along the corridor seems to suggest they are similarly confident.

Color us cautiously optimistic. Though there’s been no public pronouncement that would indicate the commonwealth’s plans to widen Route 58 are at all imminent, a few things do encourage that optimism.

First, there’s continuing opposition to work on U.S. Route 460, which would compete with Route 58 for distribution facilities if the former were not already in a worse traffic situation than the latter. As Route 460’s fortunes fade, Route 58’s fortunes will brighten.

Second, city officials have been diligent about setting aside money for the municipality’s portion of the cost of improving Route 58. With $23 million already earmarked from the total $65-million cost of the widening the road, Suffolk has ensured the commonwealth is well on the way to funding the project already. Doing so also ensures the city is not standing in the way of progress when Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board finally discovers Route 58 should be a top priority.

Third, the Port of Hampton Roads is desperate for the improvements to Route 58 and will be even more so as Route 460 plans continue to drag. With the planned opening of the newly widened Panama Canal next year, port facilities just across the line from Suffolk in Portsmouth and Norfolk will be well-positioned to accept larger container ships than ever. Many of those containers will head west through Suffolk, whose logistics industry could then grow faster than ever. A Route 58 that can handle the load will be necessary.

Much will be said about the benefits of the “hundreds of jobs” and millions of dollars of investment promised by the Target expansion. Both are, indeed, excellent news. But the more promising news for folks in Suffolk might have been hiding between the lines of Wednesday’s announcement.

If Target’s announcement signals movement toward starting the Route 58 improvements, that would surely give the people of Suffolk reason to celebrate.