{"id":570653,"date":"2026-03-30T11:55:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:55:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/570653\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T11:55:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:55:22","slug":"north-americas-largest-wildlife-overpass-opens-for-animals-to-safely-cross-in-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/570653\/","title":{"rendered":"North America\u2019s Largest Wildlife Overpass Opens for Animals to Safely Cross in Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Greenland Wildlife Overpass over I-25 \u2013Credit: Colorado Department of Transportation<\/p>\n

Moose, elk, black bears, and mountain lions are now able to cross six lanes of interstate highway traffic along I-25 near Larkspur, Colorado, thanks to the opening of North America\u2019s largest wildlife overpass.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Department of Transportation completed construction of the structure in Douglas County in December, by covering the overpass surface with dirt and vegetation.<\/p>\n

Completed in less than a year\u2014ahead of schedule, and on budget\u2014 the Greenland overpass<\/a> was specifically designed to provide safe passage for elk and pronghorn, which need more space.<\/p>\n

It connects 39,000 acres of habitat on both sides of the 6-lane highway between Larkspur and Monument, and completes a system of smaller overpasses and underpasses constructed to improve safety along the 18 mile stretch near Castle Rock. (Watch a video below\u2026)<\/p>\n

Prior to the system being built, there was an average of one wildlife-vehicle crash per day in the fall and spring, when wildlife is most active.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s research shows that the five underpasses are successfully being used by both large and small mammals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe I-25 Greenland overpass is a momentous feat,\u201d said Governor Jared Polis<\/a>. \u201cColorado is leading the way in reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions, and protecting critical habitat for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

CHECK OUT: \u2018It\u2019s working!\u2019 From Bobcats to Bears, Utah\u2019s First Wildlife Bridge is a Hit\u2013And There\u2019s Video to Prove it<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Greenland Wildlife Overpass \u2013 Credit: Colorado Department of Transportation<\/p>\n

Transportation Director Shoshana Lew said the wildlife crossing system, called the I-25 South Gap Project, is expected to reduce wildlife-vehicle crashes by 90%.<\/p>\n

Measuring 200 feet wide and 209 feet long, it covers 41,800 square feet (3,900 sq meters), making it the single largest bridge structure for wildlife in North America\u2014and one of the largest in the world.<\/p>\n

76 girders hold up the bridge deck, allowing big game animals such as moose, bear, mountain lions, elk, mule deer and pronghorn to pass, while 100,000 vehicles travel daily below.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter more than nine years of planning and work, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is excited,\u201d said Wildlife Manager Matt Martinez. \u201cWe look forward to deer, elk, bears, mountain lions and many other species safely crossing I-25, once a major barrier to migration and wildlife movements.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE GRRREAT NEWS: World\u2019s Biggest Wildlife Crossing Will Protect Animals From Drivers on the 101 in Los Angeles<\/a><\/p>\n

Funding and expertise for the project came from a multi-agency public-private partnership, including the Federal Highway Administration. However, a federal grant award called the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, provided the bulk of the construction cost, which ended up being $15 million.<\/p>\n

WATCH a video from the local CBS station\u2026<\/p>\n

SHARE THE GOOD NEWS With Wildlife Lovers On Social Media\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Greenland Wildlife Overpass over I-25 \u2013Credit: Colorado Department of Transportation Moose, elk, black bears, and mountain lions are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2837,23201,49,48,5731,1007,34016,13130,66,183,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-570653","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-automotive","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-colorado","13":"tag-construction","14":"tag-prevention","15":"tag-safety","16":"tag-science","17":"tag-usa","18":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}