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Siskiyou County \u2013 Courtesy of Caltrans, UC Davis Road Ecology Center<\/p>\n Siskiyou County \u2013 Courtesy of Caltrans, UC Davis Road Ecology Center<\/p>\n
A California wildlife overpass is already proving popular with the local deer\u2014and it\u2019s not even finished yet.<\/p>\n
In what is certainly a ringing endorsement of the $20 million bridge, 3 mule deer were caught on camera traps using the bridge to safely cross I-97 in Siskiyou County.<\/p>\n
This wildlife overpass was designed to provide animals with a safer way to cross the highway while helping reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions for motorists traveling through the corridor.<\/p>\n
Commissioned by the California, the completed version will have trees right the way across it, but the deer didn\u2019t feel like waiting around.<\/p>\n
This particular corridor of I-97 starts about 20 miles south of the bridge near Weed, and continues up to Canada, bisecting migratory routes for deer, elk, bison, and other animals.<\/p>\n
Vehicles killed over 50 deer and 16 elk in the area between 2015 and 2020, the DoT reports<\/a>, any one of which could have seriously injured the driver. In addition to the bridge, 8-foot-high fencing will ensure that animals 3 mile north or south of the bridge will be funneled towards it, and not have an alternative route onto the road.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the contractor is still completing final touches, it\u2019s incredible to see wildlife already embracing the new structure, even with workers still in the area. In addition to deer, a bobcat and other wildlife have also been spotted using it,\u201d DoT wrote in a post<\/a> on Facebook.<\/p>\n