{"id":564358,"date":"2026-04-04T15:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T15:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/564358\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T15:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T15:47:09","slug":"largest-wildlife-overpass-in-north-america-saving-lives-of-people-and-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/564358\/","title":{"rendered":"Largest wildlife overpass in North America saving lives of people and animals"},"content":{"rendered":"

While 100,000 drivers barrel down Interstate 25 in Colorado each day, moose, mountain lions, elk, deer, bears and pronghorn are happily hoofing right over their heads.<\/p>\n

The Greenland Wildlife Overpass, a lush, landscaped bridge spanning the six-lane highway between Castle Rock and Monument, has given Colorado\u2019s wildest residents their own 200-by-209-foot overpass while connecting 39,000 acres of habitat that the interstate had long divided, according to the Colorado DOT<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The overpass, which opened in December and is the largest in North America, was built for good reason: that same stretch of I-25 averaged one wildlife-vehicle collision every single day \u2014 some deadly.<\/p>\n

Moose, elk, black bears and mountain lions are now able to cross six lanes of interstate traffic along 1-25 near Larkspur, Colo., thanks to the opening of North America\u2019s largest wildlife overpass. Colorado Governor’s Office<\/p>\n

Mary Rodriquez, 43, lost her father, Victor, when a passing car hit a 700-pound elk, launching it into the air and through his windshield.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was killed immediately,\u201d Mary told CBS News Colorado<\/a>. \u201cWe are trying desperately to cope with losing him.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2021, Congress passed the bipartisan infrastructure law, which established the Wildlife Crossing Program <\/a>after identifying that there were more than 1 million wildlife-vehicle collisions annually across the US.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe I-25 Greenland overpass is a momentous feat,\u201d\u00a0said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. \u201cColorado is leading the way in reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions, and protecting critical habitat for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project received $22 million from the feds and another $8 million from the state, but was completed for\u00a0about $15 million\u00a0and finished in just one year.<\/p>\n

A moose stands at the entrance of one side of the I-25 animal overpass, which allows the animals to get to the other side of a the 39,000-acre habitat without setting foot on the dangerous six-lane highway. J. Richert\/Blue Valley Ranch<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re using the remaining money figuring out how to reinvest that money into the corridor, and one of the needs we have is building wildlife fencing along the highway,\u201d Colorado DOT Environmental Manager Chuck Attardo told CBS Colorado.<\/p>\n

The overpass is the capstone of the $419 million I-25 South Gap project \u2014 an 18-mile corridor upgrade that added four new wildlife crossings and 28 miles of deer fencing, projected to cut animal-vehicle collisions by 90%. And the overpass fills the final 3.7-mile gap in that system along one of Colorado\u2019s busiest stretches of highway, CDOT said.<\/p>\n

While the overpass was first designed for elk and pronghorn, smaller species are using it as well, the department said.<\/p>\n

Animal-vehicle collisions are a heartbreaking problem on US highways, but overpasses, which are being built in many states, cut down on the resulting injuries and fatalities.<\/p>\n

California is in the process of building the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing<\/a>, a controversial project that\u2019s run into major money problems and run-ins.<\/p>\n

A $23 million land bridge in Texas near San Antonio has also been an overwhelming success \u2014 and at least 19 states are now busily in the process of building wildlife crossings.<\/p>\n

In New York, conservationists are prioritizing the Adirondack Northway I-78 for new crossing structures due to high collision rates. The Nature Conservancy and NYDOT installed a \u201ccritter shelf\u201d inside a Route 12 culvert near Boonville, allowing species like bobcats to pass safely.<\/p>\n

Federal funds now available from the Wildlife Crossing Program have made it easier for states to build new crossings or revamp old ones. CDOT, CPW, and ECO-resolutions<\/p>\n

A third New York project took place in 2024 when Jefferson County\u2019s Wellesley Island State Park opened a new wildlife crossing culvert. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s keeps the motorists safe, and it keeps the animals safe,\u201d said Rodriguez. \u201cit\u2019s a win-win for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While 100,000 drivers barrel down Interstate 25 in Colorado each day, moose, mountain lions, elk, deer, bears and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":564359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1147,19122,22517,10740,158746,79,194,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-564358","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-bears","10":"tag-bridges","11":"tag-deer","12":"tag-department-of-transportation","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-us-news","15":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/564359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}