Washington Department of Transportation
Crossing Over Danger
New pathways made just for wildlife are saving animals—and people—on highways!
As You Read: Identify the problem that Washington State is trying to solve.
Imagine this. A mountain lion races through the woods. It’s chasing a deer that it hopes will be its next meal. Suddenly, it skids to a stop.
Imagine this. A mountain lion races through the woods. It’s chasing a deer that it hopes will be its next meal. Suddenly, it stops. Its habitat has been cut in half by a highway. Cars zip past as the mountain lion’s prey escapes across the highway. If the mountain lion keeps chasing the deer, it could get struck by a car.
A Safer Highway
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A red deer
In the United States, there are more than one million car accidents per year that involve wild animals.
In the United States, there are more than one million car accidents per year that involve wild animals. To help prevent these accidents, some communities are building wildlife crossings.
A wildlife crossing is anything that helps a wild animal safely cross a road. Bridges and tunnels are two types of crossings.
In Washington State, the I-90 highway cuts through Snoqualmie (snoh-KWAHL-mee) Pass. Wildlife live in the forest there. The state wanted to keep them off the road.
In 2009, the state began building bridges and tunnels along a 15-mile stretch of highway. Now deer, bobcat, black bear, and coyote use the crossings.
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These bears in Canada don't have an animal crossing.
The Road Ahead
Patty Garvey-Darda is a wildlife biologist who works with the U.S. Forest Service. She helped plan the bridges and tunnels along I-90.
She says the crossings are already helping animals and humans. Before the crossings, there were many accidents involving animals that were killed. People also got badly hurt. And the crashes blocked highways, which meant trucks couldn’t make deliveries to stores.
But that’s all changed.
“In 2019, we put up fencing along the highway to guide the animals to use crossings,” Garvey-Darda says. “Since that time, not one large animal has been struck by a car!”
Patty Garvey-Darda is a wildlife biologist who works with the U.S. Forest Service. She helped plan the bridges and tunnels along I-90.
She says the crossings are already helping animals and humans. Before the crossings, there were many accidents involving animals. Many animals were killed. People also got badly hurt. And the crashes blocked highways. That meant trucks couldn’t make deliveries to stores.
“In 2019, we put up fencing along the highway to guide the animals to use crossings,” Garvey-Darda says. “Since that time, not one large animal has been struck by a car!”
Courtesy of Conservation Northwest
These geese have a safe crossing in Washington State.
1. Based on the article, what are some reasons a wild animal might try to cross a highway?
2. How did scientists in Washington State guide wildlife to use the animal crossings they built along the I-90 highway?
3. What is the purpose of the sidebar, “Keeping Critters Safe”?
1. Based on the article, what are some reasons a wild animal might try to cross a highway?
2. How did scientists in Washington State guide wildlife to use the animal crossings they built along the I-90 highway?
3. What is the purpose of the sidebar, “Keeping Critters Safe”?
