My Way or the Highway:

The construction of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and the loss of Dyke Marsh

            Bumper to bumper I wonder if I will ever get home. My car has been at a standstill for five minutes and what used to be a highway moving along now looks like a parking lot. A pushy driver whom I saw driving on the shoulder is suddenly trying to cut into my lane and I have had enough of this. But I must go home only to repeat this process the following day. Rush hour is frustrating and no one should have to deal with it on such a regular basis. I know this, my family knows this, and almost the entire population who commutes through the D.C area will tell you: traffic is an issue. With this issue raised, it was decided that the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, a large portion of where the traffic congestion occurs, would be enlarged to compensate for the traffic issue. However, with this construction comes a larger issue of environmental proportions: the loss of Dyke Marsh.

            Washington Metropolitan traffic is the second worst in the country, only falling behind that of Los Angeles. On average a driver in D.C. spends seventy-six hours a year stuck in traffic (Sipress, par 1). Having one of the top twenty bottlenecks in the country, with I-95 and I-495 converging, bad traffic is understandable yet intolerable (Business Journals). I know from personal experience that this travel time can seem like eons when I am faced with rush hour traffic day after day. In fact, when the bridge was first opened in 1961, it was designed to handle 75,000 vehicles per day on six lanes. However, according to assessment results of twelve bridge engineers in 1994, it carried about 167,000 VPD with about 17,000 VPD being large trucks (Kozel, par 5).  The engineering report made in 1994 stated that the bridge shakes too much as a result of carrying more than twice its designed capacity. These vibrations add stress to the bridge’s supports and cause them to deteriorate. One day, while walking under the bridge, I noticed that there were nuts and other hardware that had fallen down; apparently maintenance workers replace these pieces on a fairly regular basis. Heightening this structural problem is the maximum legal truckloads; truckloads permitted today are significantly higher than they were when the bridge was first opened. The report states: “It is still safe to drive on the bridge, which meets current weight standards but the bridge does not meet bridge design standards for the number and weight of vehicles that cross each day" (Kozel, par 10).  The 1994 report estimated that without major structural upgrading the bridge would have to be closed to trucks in ten years and that if the bridge were reconstructed, half the roadway would have to be closed, causing two years of worsened traffic (Kozel, par 8). Indeed, something needs to be done with the structural damage occurring to the bridge, and construction has started to take place.

With the construction of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, however, comes the destruction of Dyke Marsh, the last tidal freshwater marsh, a type of coastal marsh, in the Washington Metropolitan area. Marshes are important for water quality, erosion and flood control, and sustaining a diverse array of wildlife. They improve the water quality by slowing surface runoff and acting like huge sponges: absorbing excess nutrients, processing organic waste, and filtering water before it reaches a larger body of water. Thus, marshes protect shorelines from erosion and flooding by storing water and slowly releasing it. Trees, shrubs, cattails, and other marsh vegetation help with this process and serve as a buffer between the shoreline and the larger body of water. Marshes are among the most productive ecosystems in the world and produce more biomass per year than any other ecosystem: more growth takes place and nutrients are converted into useful forms (Great Lakes, par 2). Therefore, if Dyke Marsh were destroyed, the water quality of the Potomac River would diminish and flooding and erosion would increase.

The economic worth of marshes can be seen after knowing the important role that marshes play in the environment. Flood prevention made by marshes is free, but when the marshes are taken away, flood damage will occur, along with more frequent floods of higher magnitude.  Marshes, along with other types of wetlands, are worth some forty trillion dollars a year, says Nature magazine (Linley, par 7). Therefore, flood prevention will not only cost more in the long run because of the lack of marsh, but property near the shoreline will suffer due to the increase in erosion and flooding. Further, the water quality of the Potomac River will be expected to go down because there will be no marsh to filter the water and trap both point and non-point pollutants and excess nutrients.

            Although the construction of the bridge is already underway, work can still be done to better the situation. Marsh plants are being taken from the existing Dyke Marsh and transplanted to other regions where they can be used. Also, seeds from these plants are cultivated in nurseries and replanted in other wetlands or further down the Potomac River. However, these processes have taken vast effort but do not guarantee 100% results. Ultimately, what is the answer? More sustainable living: living within the means that the environment can support. Development in the Washington Metropolitan area should diminish or slow down, families should use fewer cars or use public transportation, and perhaps those who can should work from home and avoid traveling to work altogether.

            Being from Alexandria, I am deeply affected by this conflict. I drive on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on a regular basis, but I also live very close to the Potomac River and have taken many fieldtrips to Dyke Marsh. I think it is very important to protect the natural integrity of the environment and take advantage of the enormous benefits marshes provide for us. Once Dyke Marsh is gone, it is gone, and it is time that we think ahead before we act. Instead of postponing what may become the same issue years from now, we should start thinking of alternatives such as telecommuting, limiting the development in the area, and decreasing the amount of driving needed to function in a normal fashion. But seeing that people are not going to stop moving to the area, it is important to take advantage the technology we have access to and use that to cut back on traffic. Many jobs can be completed through phone, e-mail, and other Internet services. Also, carpooling could help cut back on how many cars are on the road. Many times cars with two or more people can use the HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes that are designed to give traffic breaks to those traveling in larger numbers. Families could also own fewer cars. Does a family of four really need four cars? Aside from the large amounts of tax the family pays on these cars, do all of these cars need to be used at the same time? Finally, being in a metropolitan area, there is a vast mass-transit system. This public transportation is not only affordable but also easily accessible. Although the bridge construction is underway and Dyke Marsh will soon suffer, let this be a lesson to all of us about changing our lifestyles for the better.