CPW, CDOT celebrate completion of first wildlife crossing along I-70 Mountain Corridor
June 20, 2024
CPW, CDOT celebrate completion of first wildlife crossing along I-70 Mountain Corridor
GENESEE, Colo. – Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Colorado Department of Transportation celebrated the ribbon cutting of the first wildlife crossing along the I-70 Mountain Corridor on Thursday. The wildlife underpass sits near I-70 mile point 254.5, between the Lookout Mountain and Genesee exits, and new wildlife fencing and escape ramps now span for two miles along both directions of the interstate between those exits.
CDOT reports the location has the highest number of wildlife-vehicle collisions on I-70 east of the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel, but the underpass and fencing are expected to decrease collisions with wildlife by up to 90 percent.
“Wildlife need to move daily and between seasonal ranges to maintain resiliency in response to habitat conditions and changing pressures on the landscape,” said Jeff Davis, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director. “With increasing human populations and traffic volumes in Colorado, we need to continue to develop effective solutions for wildlife to access valuable resources to maintain healthy populations. CDOT and CPW have together created statewide approaches to wildlife-highway mitigation and identified where to focus transportation dollars across Colorado to improve safe passage for motorists and wildlife. I’m thrilled to see another component of a statewide plan come to fruition today.”
The new I-70 & Genesee Wildlife Underpass will provide better movement possibilities for a variety of wildlife like elk, mule deer, black bears, coyotes, mountain lions and bobcats while improving driver safety.
“As development expands the human footprint in Colorado, it’s important for us to continue to support wildlife health and their need for protected migration corridors,” said Michelle Cowardin, Wildlife Movement Coordinator for CPW. “We’re excited to see the species that will utilize the underpass for years to come. This is a win for wildlife and a great step in improving driver safety along I-70.”
CPW and CDOT are critical partners in improving wildlife movement by mitigating barriers and collaborating on infrastructure projects to increase permeability.
“Colorado has one of the nation’s leading programs to protect traveler safety by avoiding dangerous collisions between drivers and wildlife,” said Shoshana Lew, CDOT Executive Director. “To date, we have built over 100 structures that allow terrestrial wildlife and aquatic movement in the form of pipe culverts, overpasses, concrete box culverts, underpasses and bridges with nearly 450 miles of fencing accompanying them. This program benefits from tremendous collaboration between CDOT and our partners at the Department of Natural Resources, thanks to an executive order from Governor Polis.”
CDOT media kit available here.
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.