Wildlife Crossings Needed in Connecticut

 

Much of the world has been creating wildlife crossings (underpasses and overpasses) on their roadways in order to alleviate collisions with wildlife. Parts of CT are in desperate need of these crossings for our wildlife to be able to safely cross the roadways, and to keep passengers safe.

CT was recently ranked as having some of the worst roads in the country. As we work toward making our roads safer, wildlife crossings must be on our agenda. In areas of the country that already have these structures there is as much as a 93% decrease in collisions in the area that animals have access to a crossing.

The Merritt Parkway, and certain parts of I-95, are ideal places to start due to the amount of wildlife that surround and often cross these highways. A combination of underpasses, overpasses, fencing, and stricter protocol on speed-limit violations will vastly reduce the amount of collisions happening with wildlife on these roadways. These implementations will not only save many animal lives but human as well (and millions of dollar’s worth of damage).

Habitat fragmentation (roadways) leads to the increase in collisions between vehicles and animals –sometimes fatal for humans, often fatal for the animal. Wildlife crossings should be standard in all future road development to keep the problem from getting worse.

 

 

Costs and Benefits

One study estimates that adding wildlife crossings to a road project is only a 7-8% increase in the total cost of the project (Bank, 2002)

A study completed for the Virginia Department of Transportation estimated that underpasses for wildlife become cost effective, in terms of property damage, when they prevent between 2.6 and 9.2 deer-vehicle collisions per year, depending on the cost of the underpass. Approximately 300 deer crossed through the underpasses in the year the study took place (Donaldson 2005).

In the United States, traffic accidents with deer alone account for $1.1 billion in vehicle damage (Donaldson 2005)

Of the options currently available, wildlife crossings have been found to be the most effective at reducing the occurrence of road collisions. Countries such as France, Germany, Netherlands and Australia have been using crossing structures successfully for decades to alleviate wildlife and human deaths on the roadways. These crossings are becoming increasingly common in Canada and the United States, and are helping to keep populations of endangered animals like the Florida Panther and the Black Bear from becoming more dangerously low.

....To be Continued. Stay tuned.