Labourers for the new harbours came originally from Ostia. People had to cross the river every day and went to their work at Portus by foot. Soon a road was built between Ostia and Portus, called the Via Severiana. Crossing the Tiber was done by ferries. Across the channel at Portus a bridge was built at the beginning of the second century AD.
After a while more and more people started a housekeeping in Portus. At the end of the second century, Ostia as well as Portus were densely populated.
Portus was described as 'Portus Ostiensis'. The council and magistrates of Ostia controlled may also have controlled the daily life of Portus, but the harbour may also have been Imperial property. The harbour of Ostia still kept its function, as we can notice by the many grain warehouses. Their capacity was far higher than was strictly necessary for the local population.