{"id":614,"date":"2026-04-04T13:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T13:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/?p=614"},"modified":"2026-04-04T13:17:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T13:17:00","slug":"north-americas-largest-wildlife-sanctuary-saves-the-lives-of-people-and-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/?p=614","title":{"rendered":"North America\u2019s largest wildlife sanctuary saves the lives of people and animals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>As 100,000 motorists zip down Colorado&#8217;s Interstate 25 each day, moose, mountain lions, moose, deer, bears, and pronghorn happily flap their hooves above their heads.<\/p>\n<p>The Greenland Wildlife Overpass, a lush and scenic bridge spanning the six-lane highway between Castle Rock and Monument, gives Colorado&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The opening of North America&#8217;s largest wildlife overpass will allow moose, moose, black bears and mountain lions to cross six lanes of interstate traffic along 1-25 near Larkspur, Colorado. <span class=\"credit\">Colorado Governor&#8217;s Office<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He was killed immediately,&#8221; Mary told CBS News Colorado. \u201cWe are desperately trying to cope with his loss.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Interstate 25 Greenland Viaduct is a monumental feat,&#8221; Colorado Governor Jared Polis said. \u201cColorado is leading the way in efforts to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and protect critical habitat for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>A moose stands at the entrance to one side of the Interstate 25 animal overpass. The overpass allows the animals to reach the other side of their 39,000-acre habitat without having to step onto the dangerous six-lane highway. <span class=\"credit\">J. Richert\/Blue Valley Ranch<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;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,&#8221; Chuck Attardo, director of environment for the Colorado Department of Transportation, told CBS Colorado.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s final 3.7 miles along one of Colorado&#8217;s busiest highways, CDOT said.<\/p>\n<p>The overpass was originally designed for elk and pronghorn, but is used by smaller species as well, the agency said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Animal-vehicle collisions are a traumatic problem on America&#8217;s highways, but overpasses being built in many states are reducing injuries and fatalities.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>California is building the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing Facility, a controversial project that has been plagued by major financial problems and troubles.<\/p>\n<p>A $23 million overpass near San Antonio, Texas, has also been an overwhelming success, with at least 19 states now actively building wildlife crossings.<\/p>\n<p>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 &#8220;life shelf&#8221; inside a culvert on Route 12 near Booneville to provide safe passage for species like bobcats.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The availability of federal funds from the Wildlife Crossing Program makes it easier for states to build new crosswalks or renovate old ones. <span class=\"credit\">CDOT, CPW, and ECO resolution<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It keeps drivers safe and it keeps animals safe,&#8221; Rodriguez said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a win-win for everyone.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>#North #Americas #largest #wildlife #sanctuary #saves #lives #people #animals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As 100,000 motorists zip down Colorado&#8217;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&#8217;s wildest residents a unique 200-by-209-foot overpass, connecting 39,000 acres of &#8230; <a title=\"North America\u2019s largest wildlife sanctuary saves the lives of people and animals\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/?p=614\" aria-label=\"Read more about North America\u2019s largest wildlife sanctuary saves the lives of people and animals\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[2303,317,158,1095,1945,907,512,794,2301,2302,789,2304,2305,2300,248],"class_list":["post-614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-wilde-life","tag-americas","tag-animal","tag-animals","tag-bear","tag-bridge","tag-deer","tag-largest","tag-lives","tag-ministry-of-transport","tag-north","tag-people","tag-sanctuary","tag-saves","tag-usa-news","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chabrok.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}