Evaluation of the Use and Effectiveness of Wildlife Crossings

Every year, the costs of personal injuries and property damage resulting from animal/vehicle collisions are considerable. Various means have been employed to mitigate these collisions, with varying degrees of success. In recent years, highway agencies have placed a growing emphasis on protecting the environment. While many smaller species of animals do not pose a threat to vehicles through collisions, they experience significant habitat loss and fragmentation as a result of roadway alignments. Transportation corridors limit the natural movement of wildlife, affecting individual species and ecosystems. There has been considerable research on the provision of wildlife crossings, but there is a lack of data on their effectiveness and on the methods most effective for a particular species in a particular landscape. It also appears that crossings may work well for one species but not for others. An international scan on wildlife habitat connectivity documented various strategies and designs used in Europe to improve the connectivity of wildlife habitats. Developing successful designs, methods, and strategies to make roadways more permeable to wildlife is but one aspect of managing highways to avoid or minimize affects to the natural environment and maintaining safety for motorists. There is a need to provide state DOTs with guidance on the use and effectiveness of wildlife crossings to mitigate habitat fragmentation and reduce the number of animal/vehicle collisions on our roadways. The objective of this project was to develop guidelines for the selection (type), configuration, location, monitoring, evaluation, and maintenance of wildlife crossings.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=762

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $568997
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 25-27

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 225
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Project Managers:

  Hedges, Christopher

• Performing Organizations:

  Utah State University, Logan

  Structural Materials Research and Testing Lab
  Logan, UT  United States  84332-4110
• Principal Investigators:

  Bissonette, John

• Start Date: 20040601
• Expected Completion Date: 20071231
• Actual Completion Date: 20071231
• Source Data: RiP Project 9014

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Animals; Crashes; Highway safety; Injuries; Property; Wildlife crossings
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01547927
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
• Contract Numbers: Project 25-27
• Files: RIP, USDOT
• Created Date: Dec 17 2014 1:00AM