The Largest Wildlife Crossing in North America Just Opened to Critters in Colorado

Colorado officers on Tuesday have been proud to announce the completion of the I-25 Greenland wildlife overpass in Douglas County. Spanning six lanes of busy interstate, the bridge construction is 209 toes lengthy by 200 toes broad, with a floor space of practically an acre, making it the most important wildlife crossing ever in-built North America and one of many largest on this planet.

After 9 years of planning and building, crews put the ending touches on the construction earlier this month by overlaying the floor with grime and planting seeds. Douglas County Commissioner George Teal referred to as its completion a “great milestone” in safeguarding wildlife habitat and defending public security. 

The bridge construction lies in a closely trafficked stretch of highway close to Larkspur, which is across the halfway level between Denver and Colorado Springs, the 2 most populous cities within the state. (Round 100,000 automobiles journey the stretch each day.) This a part of the Entrance Vary can also be an essential migration hall for giant sport.

In different phrases, a recipe for roadkill. In keeping with the Colorado Division of Transportation, there was a mean of 1 wildlife-vehicle collision per day within the space throughout the spring and fall seasons. CDOT now expects the brand new crossing to scale back these crashes by round 90 %. This aligns with past research in Banff National Park, the place a collection of wildlife crossings have helped scale back wildlife-vehicle collisions by 80 % — or 96 % for simply elk and deer.

“Colorado Parks and Wildlife is worked up for Colorado’s wildlife to make the most of this overpass,” CPW space wildlife supervisor Matt Martinez mentioned in a news release Tuesday. “We look ahead to deer, elk, bears, mountain lions and lots of different species safely crossing I-25, as soon as a significant barrier to migration and wildlife actions.”

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CDOT says the crossing was designed with elk and pronghorn in thoughts. These and different species (like mule deer) want broad open overpasses — versus the lengthy and slender underpasses most popular by mountain lions and black bears.

Due to the unseasonably heat climate that the Entrance Vary has skilled up to now this winter, CPW officers say big-game animals haven’t began utilizing the crossing but. However they count on that to vary when snow begins pushing critters down from the excessive nation.

Officers say the roughly $15-million challenge was accomplished forward of schedule and on finances. Most of this funding got here from a federal grant via the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program that was established throughout the Biden Administration.