VIRGINIA - As construction of The Tide extends into downtown, Hampton Roads Transit's light-rail public outreach campaign will move in as well.

Over the next few weeks, downtowners will start seeing 4-foot-by- 6-foot "The Tide is Rising" displays containing light-rail informational brochures inside shops and businesses.

A video simulation of the train moving through Norfolk will run on televisions in the federal building, on the big screen before Tides baseball games and inside some retail stores.

HRT and Norfolk have partnered to build a $288 million, 7.4-mile light-rail line from the city line at Newtown Road, past Norfolk State University and Harbor Park, through downtown to the medical center on Brambleton Avenue.

It's scheduled to open in mid-2010.

HRT's outreach office, in the 400 block of Granby St., will close at the end of March because it was not drawing enough people inside.

"We are taking a more aggressive approach instead of sitting behind a desk waiting for people to come to us," said James Toscano, HRT vice president . "Our goal is to spread as much information about the light-rail project as possible."