Since 2017, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been actively pursuing shoreline stabilization through living shorelines as a key element of its plan for meeting its water quality improvement requirements within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. VDOT has completed or is in progress on living shoreline projects in each of the major Chesapeake Bay estuaries in Virginia.

At first glance, living shorelines may not seem like an obvious practice for a department of transportation to implement, but its Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) nutrient reduction requirements prompted the VDOT to consider potential tools outside of its normal toolbox to meet its water quality improvement goals. Shoreline stabilization through living shorelines can provide large water quality benefits at a relatively low cost while also providing other benefits such as habitat creation and infrastructure protection.

This presentation describes how VDOT became involved in living shorelines, the statewide site assessment to determine the best sites for living shoreline projects, the site investigation and concept design process, the partnerships VDOT has been able to achieve with other state agencies and private non-profits, and summaries of the projects that have been or are being implemented in each of the major Chesapeake Bay estuaries in Virginia.