As 100,000 motorists zip down Colorado’s Interstate 25 each day, moose, mountain lions, moose, deer, bears, and pronghorn happily flap their hooves above their heads.
The Greenland Wildlife Overpass, a lush and scenic bridge spanning the six-lane highway between Castle Rock and Monument, gives Colorado’s wildest residents a unique 200-by-209-foot overpass, connecting 39,000 acres of habitat long separated by the interstate, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Opening in December, this overpass, the largest in North America, was built for a good reason. On the same stretch of Interstate 25, there was an average of one wildlife-vehicle collision each day, sometimes resulting in a fatality.
Mary Rodriguez, 43, lost her father, Victor, when a passing car hit the 700-pound moose, sending it flying into the air and crashing through the windshield.
“He was killed immediately,” Mary told CBS News Colorado. “We are desperately trying to cope with his loss.”
In 2021, Congress passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, recognizing that more than 1 million wildlife-vehicle collisions occur annually across the United States and creating the Wildlife Crossing Program.
“The Interstate 25 Greenland Viaduct is a monumental feat,” Colorado Governor Jared Polis said. “Colorado is leading the way in efforts to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and protect critical habitat for generations to come.”
The project received $22 million from the federal government and another $8 million from the state, but was completed in just one year at a cost of about $15 million.
“We’re using the remaining funds to figure out how to reinvest them in the corridor. One of the needs we have is to build wildlife fencing along the highway,” Chuck Attardo, director of environment for the Colorado Department of Transportation, told CBS Colorado.
The overpass is the culmination of the $419 million I-25 South Gap project. The project is projected to reduce animal-vehicle collisions by 90 percent with the renovation of 18 miles of corridors, adding four new wildlife crossings and 45 miles of deer fencing. And the overpass fills a gap in the system’s final 3.7 miles along one of Colorado’s busiest highways, CDOT said.
The overpass was originally designed for elk and pronghorn, but is used by smaller species as well, the agency said.
California is building the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing Facility, a controversial project that has been plagued by major financial problems and troubles.
A $23 million overpass near San Antonio, Texas, has also been an overwhelming success, with at least 19 states now actively building wildlife crossings.
In New York, conservationists are prioritizing the Adirondack Northway I-78 for a new intersection structure because of high crash rates. The Nature Conservancy and NYDOT have installed a “life shelf” inside a culvert on Route 12 near Booneville to provide safe passage for species like bobcats.
The third project in New York will be the opening of a new wildlife crossing culvert at Wellesley Island State Park in Jefferson County in 2024.
“It keeps drivers safe and it keeps animals safe,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”
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