To the editor,
Virginia Paving is a better company and community partner today because of the special use permit (SUP) City Council passed in 2006.
Three years ago, city staff and elected officials, working closely with civic association leaders, developed 78 SUP conditions for the company. Today, because of the SUP process, annual asphalt production is reduced, a full-time city inspector is enforcing the conditions, nighttime production is closely monitored and the Virginia Paving SUP/Community Liaison Committee is meeting several times a year to discuss and evaluate plant activity and facility improvements.
As required by the SUP, Virginia Paving has made extensive equipment upgrades. This includes installing state-of-the-art blue smoke emission-capturing systems that were designed to enhance coexistence between residential and industrial areas. Additionally, a new fleet of clean-emission dump trucks was purchased and one of the largest storm water management systems in the City of Alexandria was installed.
It is because of the SUP that the Alexandria plant is one of the cleanest and environmentally-efficient facilities in Virginia. Last year, the Virginia Recycling Association (the leading resource of recycling information for the general public, the Virginia General Assembly and local governments), named the Alexandria plants recycling program as the most outstanding in Virginia.
Just this month, the National Asphalt Pavement Association picked the Alexandria plant as a national finalist for the Ecological Award, which promotes safe and responsible environmental practices based on design layout, clean operation and maintenance practices. The association also named VirginiaPaving.com the best website in the nation.
Virginia Paving works exceptionally hard at building and maintaining the highway systems Alexandrians and Virginians depend upon for every facet of their lives. This manufacturing business, which provides 175 good-paying jobs, has been operating at the same location in the city since 1960. Just a few hundred yards from the Beltway, its immediate neighbors include the Covanta Waste-to-Energy facility, warehouses filled with auto shops and dry cleaners, several railroad tracks and the Summers Grove and Cameron Station residential communities.
Common good came out of the SUP process. Besides a better understanding of the expectations of the local community, Lane Construction Corporation, which owns Virginia Paving, instituted a community service program at all of its locations throughout the east coast. This program was developed and instituted company-wide because Virginia Paving heard time and again it was not supporting the Alexandria community.
Virginia Paving supports the Alexandria community. When asked, the plant provides donations and support to dozens of Alexandria charities, nonprofits and events. Some include: First Night Alexandria, Cameron Stations 10-year Anniversary Celebration, Tucker Elementary School PTA, Alexandria YMCA, Alexandria Earth Day, Salvation Army, Colin Casey Race, Animal Welfare League, Breast Cancer Walk, Senior Services, Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Alexandria and Parent Leadership Training Institute.
Understanding the challenge to continually improve operations, Virginia Paving employees clearly recognize we are a part of the greater-Alexandria community. Virginia Paving is committed to doing whats best for Alexandrians and is a better company because of the special use permit legislation City Council passed in 2006.
David Horton
Alexandria Plant Manager
Virginia Paving Company
Alexandria
