Civil Engineering in Blackstone, VA

Civil Engineering in Virginia: what governs your project

Virginia's VPDES construction stormwater program is administered by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Access permits on state roads go through the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act adds a state-level overlay to site design in Tidewater localities, and Northern Virginia's marine clays are notorious in geotechnical practice.

Permitting & plan check

Local building officials enforce the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, so the base code is consistent across the state. Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads jurisdictions run sophisticated electronic review; Chesapeake Bay localities add preservation-act review, and historic districts in Richmond, Alexandria, and elsewhere add architectural review boards.

Good to know

• The 2011 Mineral, Virginia earthquake was felt across the East Coast and pushed seismic detailing into wider practice in the Mid-Atlantic.
• Northern Virginia's marine clays are among the most problematic soils on the East Coast for foundations and tunneling.
• The Hampton Roads region's military installations make it one of the most concentrated defense-construction markets in the country.

Every discipline, one team