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Every year, an estimated 200 people die in U.S. vehicle collisions with wildlife. Over the past decade, there has been a nationwide effort to build structures that allow animals to get across roads safely. Stephanie Daniel with member station KUNC reports.
STEPHANIE DANIEL, BYLINE: In Larimer County, Colorado, Rick Knight stands in a dry creek bed underneath U.S. Highway 287. He explains why this spot was dangerous for motorists and animals.
RICK KNIGHT: There used to be a big, old, wicked five-strand barb wire fence here.
DANIEL: That meant deer and other wildlife couldn’t cross under the road, leading to collisions with vehicles. Knight, an emeritus professor at Colorado State University, lives in the area and, with the help of college students, built a wildlife-friendly crossing here that cost less than $500.
KNIGHT: We put these vertical posts in the ground. They’re 15 inches apart.
DANIEL: Wide enough for deer, elk and other animals to pass through, but too close for ranchers’ cows.
KNIGHT: So the thing we need is to give wildlife a choice.
DANIEL: Providing animals with choices is important because, across the U.S., they are involved in more than a million car accidents with motorists annually.
JEREMY ROMERO: Roughly, that equates out to one wildlife vehicle collision every 26 seconds in our country.
DANIEL: Jeremy Romero works for the National Wildlife Federation. Part of his job is to help reduce these collisions by advancing wildlife crossing projects at the local, state and federal levels. He says the most successful solutions cater to the animals.
ROMERO: Like Wyoming where we have large, abundant pronghorn herds. And pronghorn – fun fact – don’t like to go under a road. They don’t like to use tunnels.
DANIEL: So Wyoming built overpasses for their safe passage. Other places might create underpasses, retrofit box culverts, use bridges or fencing to keep animals away from roads. He says a lot of thought goes into how these structures are built.
ROMERO: So how wide they are, how tall they are all play into allowing wildlife to utilize them and move across these roadways.
DANIEL: The number of wildlife crossings has increased thanks to the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law passed in 2021. So far, more than half of the states and five Indian tribes have received funding for wildlife crossing projects. In December, one of the biggest in North America opened over Interstate 25, south of Denver, which cost $15 million.
ROMERO: It’s been really helpful in getting states on board and taking the measures to make our roadways safer.
DANIEL: These crossings will also help reduce costs related to wildlife vehicle crashes that could save about $8 billion a year nationwide.
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DANIEL: At Ozzie’s Body Shop in Larimer County, co-owner Megan Mueller says they regularly repair cars damaged by wildlife collisions, like this gray Toyota RAV4.
MEGAN MUELLER: The deer took off and ran into his left rear door.
DANIEL: She estimates the repair will be about $10,000.
MUELLER: The door absolutely needs replaced. In addition, the deer actually hit his wheel and tire, so we’ll be wanting to evaluate the alignment.
DANIEL: Studies have shown that crossings can decrease costly and deadly vehicle wildlife collisions by around 90%, helping people, animals and vehicles safely get to their destinations. For NPR News, I’m Stephanie Daniel in Larimer County, Colorado.
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