Colorado wildlife crossings cut animal collisions by 91%, report finds
Wildlife crossings on Interstate 25 in Colorado, including a big overpass for elk and pronghorn, cut crashes with animals by 91%, the Guardian and CBS Colorado reported. The overpass opened in December. Elk, bears, deer and even frogs now use it, state officials said.
A system of wildlife crossings on Interstate 25 between Denver and Colorado Springs has cut wildlife-vehicle collisions by 91%, according to a Colorado Department of Transportation report, the Guardian reported. The Guardian reported that the overpass helped cut collisions by 91% since its completion 10 months ago.
Colorado Politics reported that the 91% figure came from the final year of a study covering 2022 to 2024, after most of the system was built, and that collisions fell about 85% a year on average over the study. Data on how the overpass itself is working is still being collected, Colorado Politics reported.
The system includes the Greenland Wildlife Overpass, five underpasses and fencing that guides animals to the crossings, CBS Colorado reported. CDOT says the overpass is the largest of its kind in North America, Colorado Politics reported. It spans six lanes and connects 39,000 acres of habitat, the Guardian reported, and CBS Colorado gave its size as 209 by 200 feet.
"We're seeing pronghorn for the first time in decades cross over to the west side of I-25 because of the bridge," CDOT environmental manager Chuck Attardo said, according to CBS Colorado. Bears, deer, coyotes and the federally threatened Preble's meadow jumping mouse also use the crossing, state wildlife biologist Brandon Marette said, CBS Colorado reported.
The overpass opened in December ahead of schedule, CBS Colorado reported. The project received $22 million in federal funds and $8 million from the state but was finished for $15 million, Attardo said. "They pay for themselves in about 15 years because of all those accidents that they prevent," he said, according to CBS Colorado.
Before the crossings, the corridor averaged about one wildlife-vehicle crash a day, the Guardian reported, citing CDOT. Colorado Politics reported an average of 32 wildlife crashes a year on that section of I-25, which it said were under-reported. California's Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is set to surpass the Colorado overpass in size when it opens this winter, Colorado Politics reported, citing California's transportation department.
What we know: Colorado's I-25 wildlife crossings cut wildlife-vehicle collisions sharply, with a 91% drop in the study's final year.
What we don't: How much the new overpass alone has added to that drop.
Where outlets agree The Guardian, CBS Colorado and Colorado Politics report that CDOT's I-25 wildlife crossing system cut wildlife-vehicle collisions by 91%.
Where they differ The Guardian reports the overpass helped cut collisions by 91% since its completion, while Colorado Politics reports the 91% came from the study's final year, before the overpass was finished.