From August 2006 until approximately March 2008, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project's environmental team facilitated an innovative program that both serves Chesapeake Bay anglers and disposes of the old Wilson Bridge. In collaboration with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other partners; over the course of 19 months, 49 large barge loads of clean concrete and steel were delivered to five reefs in the lower Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, building 60,000 tons worth of high quality reefs in strategic locations.  Due to the presence of lead paint, the bridge contractors decided to recycle most of the steel at scrap yards.  The target "height" of the reefs, measured from the Bay or river bottom to the top of a given reef, was 10 to 15 feet. This profile not only provides optimal habitat and leaves ample clearance for vessels to float over the reef at low tide but also provides vertical relief to protect the reefs from being buried by sedimentation over time or from large storms. The artificial reefs were built perpendicular to the tidal current. This creates a respite for fish swimming against the current and also creates eddying which traps detritus and other food sources to create feeding zones so that, eventually, an entire ecosystem can be sustained by the reef.   

September 2007-An excavator removes a concrete roadway deck slab during the demolition of the pre-existing Woodrow Wilson Bridge.

The fish reef program has proven so successful that five major fish reefs have been developed and are proving to be excellent habitat. The fish reef program has revolutionized Maryland's fish reef efforts and spawned the Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative, which will guide and support future reef placement in the state.  Fish - striped bass, sea trout and flounder - will congregate around the reef to catch their food, attracting anglers bent on the same goal. Oysters and crabs also are drawn to the reefs, both of which have sustained major population declines over the last twenty years.  

	DNR's Marty Gary fish sampling at Cedar Point fish reef immediately after material placement.
Post-explosive demolition material delivered to "The Gooses" fish reef in January 2008.

The WWB Fish Reef Creation Program was not part of the required mitigation package for the overall Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project. Instead, the fish reef creation program was completed in addition to the mitigation package, going above and beyond the Project's commitments to protect the environment.