Dive Brief:

• The builder that will develop the Alexandria, VA, waterfront has agreed to use barges instead of dump trucks to haul debris away from construction sites.

• EYA, which builds in the Washington metropolitan area, offered to take the unusual step in response to resident concerns that dump trucks carrying materials to the site and trash away from it would block traffic, create noise, harm the city’s historic homes, and tear up roads.

• Alexandria officials have said using barges would eliminate 90% of trips through the city by heavy construction equipment.

Dive Insight:

The concession came as the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday approved Alexandria’s plan to build condominiums, hotels, stores, a park, and a boat club, among other structures, along its border on the Potomac River. The project had been held up for years by a group of residents who sued to try to halt it.