Awesome to see some numbers on one of these projects. It often takes so little to accommodate nature with little to no inconvenience to us. Glad to see there are near 2 dozen more being built, with hopefully many more to come.
Yes, but we also tend to ignore the cost of car crashes. Some of the cost is incurred by the individual, if their car gets damaged, but most of the cost of car crashes ends up getting paid by taxpayers.
They are investments for the sake of all parties involved.
The Colorado department of transportation said before the overpass system was built, there was an average of one wildlife-vehicle crash a day in this corridor.
Such wildlife crossings are popping up across the country as a way to protect wildlife habitat and reduce collisions, which can result in injuries and deaths in humans and animals. Research has shown that overpass systems are successful in “nearly eliminating” these accidents and that such infrastructure buildouts often “pay for themselves” by preventing costly crashes.
I saw some of these going through Banff years ago where the bridge itself was all natural as well. So small trees, shrubs etc. It looked really cool esthetically as well. Its a small thing, but still a thing.
Awesome to see some numbers on one of these projects. It often takes so little to accommodate nature with little to no inconvenience to us. Glad to see there are near 2 dozen more being built, with hopefully many more to come.
Overpass bridges aren’t exactly free
Yes, but we also tend to ignore the cost of car crashes. Some of the cost is incurred by the individual, if their car gets damaged, but most of the cost of car crashes ends up getting paid by taxpayers.
Here’s a nice summary, although not related to wildlife specifically: https://maxmautner.com/2026/09/10/paying-for-driving.html
They are investments for the sake of all parties involved.
I see that now. They reckon each bridge pays for itself in 15 years due to fewer road crashes.
And that’s probably not taking into account the externalities for things like wildlife conservation.
I saw some of these going through Banff years ago where the bridge itself was all natural as well. So small trees, shrubs etc. It looked really cool esthetically as well. Its a small thing, but still a thing.