A $33,200,100 federal grant award will allow ODOT to construct a wildlife crossing over Interstate 5 in southern Oregon in the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. This will be the first wildlife overcrossing for Oregon and for the entire stretch of I-5 between Mexico and Canada. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) grant was announced Friday.
“With this significant investment of federal funding, ODOT can now provide a new connection for wildlife in an ecologically diverse area,” said ODOT Director Kris Strickler. “This will improve safety for drivers on I-5 by reducing wildlife collisions. I want to thank our federal partners for making this project possible by fully funding ODOT’s grant request.”
The grant award will go toward construction of a wildlife overpass on Interstate 5 just north of the Oregon-California border. The location is within the Mariposa Preserve, part of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.
Funding will allow for construction of an overpass spanning the northbound and southbound lanes, directional fencing to funnel wildlife to the structure and associated habitat improvements. The purpose of a wildlife crossing is to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions, which threaten the safety of both motorists and wildlife, and to reconnect critical wildlife habitat.
“What a huge win for Southern Oregon! This first-ever I-5 wildlife crossing in Oregon will be instrumental in safeguarding all the special species that call the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument home, while protecting drivers from dangerous wildlife collisions and costly damages to their vehicles,” said U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley. “I’ve long championed efforts to strengthen the Cascade-Siskiyou area, and this latest federal investment I pushed to secure will certainly go a long way toward protecting drivers and the diverse wildlife that are entwined with this spectacular landscape that’s unlike anywhere in the world.”
In addition to the $33,200,100 FHWA grant award, ODOT will provide matching funds of $3,799,900 for a total project cost of $37 million. The required match comes from a $7 million allocation to wildlife corridors by the Oregon legislature with the passage of House Bill 5202 in 2022.
There are currently six wildlife undercrossings in the state, including five under U.S. 97 and one under U.S. 20. Their construction has led to an 86% decrease in vehicle-wildlife collisions. Recent data shows the average cost of a vehicle collision with a deer is $9,000, and $24,000 for a collision with an elk. Future sites for wildlife overcrossings on U.S. 20 are under review in Central Oregon.
ODOT has collaborated with the Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition, a group of governmental, nonprofit and tribal partners, to develop a plan and support for a wildlife crossing.
"We are grateful for all the hard work our partners have put in to help bring the project to fruition," said Darrin Neavoll, ODOT Region 3 manager. "This project means a lot to a lot of people."
Source: ODOT