Data Collection of Wildlife Animals Crossing I-80 in Eastern Nevada and USA Parkway

An area with a high frequency of wildlife vehicle collisions (WVCs) in Nevada is between Wells and Wendover along I80 in Elko County. A mountain range (Pequop Mountains) is in this area with thousands of mule deer crossing I80. There are two 10’ x 10’ wildlife underpasses, two vehicle underpasses and two wildlife overpasses in the Pequop Mountains. These crossing structures are used by wildlife animals to cross I80 safely. The State Route 439 (SR 439, USA Parkway) is another road with highway safety concern caused by the high amount of wild horses and their frequently crossing the road. There are two wildlife underpasses along USA Parkway to reduce the WVC risk. Extended data collection is needed to track the trend of usage, and provide the before-after data of two new wildlife overpass projects, so the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) Environmental Services continued the data collection in this area. This proposed project is for University of Nevada, Reno Center for Advanced Transportation Education and Research (UNR CATER) to continue the data collection and data analysis along I80 in Pequop Mountains and extend the effort to USA Parkway. This project will use NDOT motion-activated cameras (PC900 HyperFire Professional High Output Infrared Camera) to document wildlife activities at the eight crossing structures, including two 10’ x 10’ wildlife underpasses, two vehicle underpasses and two large overpasses in Pequop Mountains and two 12’x 30’ underpass structures along US Parkway. All cameras are housed in security enclosures and mounted to the T-Posts or other existing facilities. The spring migration is normally from March 1st to May 15th, and the autumn migration is from September 15th to December 1st based on known historical movement patterns.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Start Date: 20180501
• Expected Completion Date: 20190531
• Actual Completion Date: 20190531

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Animal vehicle crashes; Before and after studies; Cameras; Data analysis; Data collection; Detectors; Interstate highways; Motion; Mountain roads; Wildlife crossings
• Identifier Terms: Interstate 80
• Geographic Terms: Elko County (Nevada)
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01672116
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Advanced Transportation Education and Research (CATER)
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Jun 15 2018 10:44AM