States have embarked on a wildlife crossing construction spree in an effort to save both human and animal lives.
The idea is to allow critters, small and large, to traverse habitats and carry out their seasonal migrations without crossing lanes of traffic, which results in more than 1 million collisions a year and approximately 200 human deaths.
Studies have shown that well-placed animal crossings paired with roadside fencing can reduce crashes by upwards of 90%.
California last month began construction on the final stage of what Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has termed the “largest urban wildlife crossing in the world.” The nearly $100 million bridge, built through a public-private partnership, spans 10 lanes of the 101 freeway in Agoura Hills, 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
“The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will soon protect Los Angeles’ native wildlife and over 300,000 drivers daily, as well as provide a cutting-edge model for urban wildlife conservation,” Newsom said in a statement.
A similar project in Colorado will create a wildlife bridge over six lanes of Interstate 25 south of Denver to connect 39,000 acres of habitat used by deer, elk, pronghorn antelope and other mammals.
Projects are also underway or in the planning stages in Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts and Oregon, among other states.
The growing popularity of wildlife bridges and tunnels got a boost with the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, which included $350 million to help states, local governments and tribes pay for bypasses.
To date, 35 projects have received funding with demand far outpacing available dollars. Some wildlife crossing projects have languished due to a lack of funding.
Vermont’s transportation and natural resources agencies indefinitely delayed a wildlife underpass project on Interstate 89 west of Montpelier this year when the price tag for completion came in at $50 million.
Wyoming officials are seeking private donations to install fencing, a series of underpasses and an overpass along U.S. Highway 26/287 near the town of Dubois, part of a broader effort in the Cowboy State to reduce the number of deer, antelope and other animals hit by cars.
A 2020 study found that vehicle-animal crashes increased four-fold between 1965 and 2017, attributable in part to a growing number of cars on the road and an increase in the nation’s road network.
West Virginia, Michigan, Montana, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin lead the nation in crashes involving animals, according to a 2024 State Farm Insurance analysis.
Montana, where the odds of hitting a deer or other animal is 1 in 54, is among the states at the forefront of efforts to address the epidemic.
The state, in partnership with tribes, has built what it calls the “most extensive wildlife-sensitive highway design and construction effort” in North America along two stretches of U.S. 93 north and south of Missoula. The projects extend over 76 miles and include 81 crossings along with “wildlife exclusion” roadside fencing.
In 2023, as part of the federal program, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes received $8.6 million to construct a grizzly bear crossing along U.S. 93 through the Flathead Indian Reservation. That same year, the Montana Department of Transportation was awarded $424,000 in federal funds to study the feasibility of installing wildlife crossings along a 68-mile stretch of Interstate 90 east of Missoula.
This year, Montana Rep. Katie Zolnikov (R) passed a law to create a Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks specialty license plate with proceeds going to fund more crossings — something Wyoming also offers. The bill’s intent section noted that 70% of Montanans have collided with an animal.
“That’s the problem that we’re aiming to fix with this, because there are so many Montanans that are impacted by these wildlife vehicle collisions,” Zolnikov told the House Transportation Committee.
A separate Montana bill earmarked a portion of marijuana tax revenues for wildlife crossings, which Pew said marked the first time a state has established a permanent revenue source for this type of infrastructure.
Lawmakers in other Western states also advanced wildlife corridor funding and legislation this year.
New Mexico lawmakers committed $50 million in one-time funds for the state’s Wildlife Corridors Action Plan. Supporters heralded it as the “largest single appropriation dedicated to terrestrial wildlife crossings in the country.”
Washington State lawmakers set aside $1 million in state transportation dollars for wildlife underpasses along a section of U.S. 97 in rural Okanogan County. The funding is contingent on getting federal matching funds.
A new Oregon law requires the Department of Transportation to conduct feasibility studies and develop a list of priority projects “to reduce collisions between wildlife and vehicles.”
Nevada lawmakers rejected a proposed $1 fee on new tires to fund wildlife bypasses.
It’s not just Western states where the issue is getting attention. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed a bill this year establishing the Maryland Connectivity Coalition, whose purpose will be to reduce habitat fragmentation and vehicle-animal crashes.
France and the Netherlands were early pioneers in wildlife crossings, dating to the 1950s. Florida embraced the concept in the 1970s to protect panthers traversing I-75 along Alligator Alley in the Everglades. By the early 1990s, there were 24 crossings along a 40-mile stretch of the interstate.
Utah built the U.S.’s first wildlife bridge in 1975, according to Pew. The concept has gone mainstream in the past decade or so with notable projects over I-90 in Washington State and I-80 in Utah and under I-70 in Colorado and U.S. 97 in Central Oregon.
As of 2022 there were more than 1,000 dedicated wildlife crossings in the U.S., according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which also found that at least a dozen states had in recent years passed laws or issued executive orders related to the topic.