Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat Connectivity
The objectives of this project are the following: (1) Explore the effectiveness of new mitigation measures intended to increase driver awareness and decrease collisions with large mammals such as deer, elk, and moose. There are an estimated 1-2 million collisions with large mammals each year in the U.S., and the direct costs to society can be as high as $6-12 billion per year. There have been many developments in animal detection-driver warning systems. These are ideal at-grade solutions and are most often deployed on 2-lane rural highways. Other technologies that could be evaluated are on-board animal detection and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) systems. Another emerging technology is radar speed guns linked to variable message signs. There are many other emerging technologies that states and their partners may find of interest. (2) Evaluate improvements to traditional mitigation measures and quantify the effectiveness of those improvements in reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs). Signage and messaging, reflectors, noise makers, educational campaigns, citizen involvement, structural solutions such as under- and overpasses and associated fencing and escape ramps (a.k.a. jump-outs), and other mitigation measures that may have received modernization or improvements in recent years should be re-evaluated. For example, the Illumination of roadways has been a traditional measure to increase driver visibility, but has not necessarily been aimed at reducing WVCs. With new lighting techniques available, lighting systems may be evaluated for effectiveness at reducing WVCs. Similarly, new innovations in overpass technologies, such as the use of geosynthetically reinforced soil technologies and alternative fill materials like geofoam, may result in increased effectiveness because of improved sound attenuation. The Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat Connectivity pooled fund study will select mitigation measures from this category to evaluate. (3) Assess the mitigation needs and measures for particular species of conservation interest. Often there is little known about species of conservation concern and their interaction with roads and when and how to create safe passage for these species. This project will select those species of conservation concern for which information is most urgently needed by transportation agencies and its partners, particularly for species of regional or national importance.
- Record URL:
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $1275000
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Contract Numbers:
TPF-5(358)
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Sponsor Organizations:
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities
Research Development & Technology Transfer
3132 Channel Dr
Juneau, AK United StatesArizona Department of Transportation
206 South 17th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ United States 85007Colorado Department of Transportation
2829 W. Howard Place
Denver, CO United States 80204California Department of Transportation
1227 O Street
Sacramento, CA United States 95814Iowa Department of Transportation
800 Lincoln Way
Ames, IA United States 50010Michigan Department of Transportation
Van Wagoner Building
425 W. Ottawa Street
Lansing, MI United States 48909Minnesota Department of Transportation
Transportation Building
395 John Ireland Boulevard
St Paul, MN United States 55155Oregon Department of Transportation
355 Capitol St. NE
Salem, OR United States 97301-3871Washington State Department of Transportation
Transportation Building
Olympia, WA United States 98504New Mexico Department of Transportation
1120 Cerrillos Road
P.O. Box 1149
Sante Fe, NM United States 87504-1149Nevada Department of Transportation
1263 South Stewart Street
Carson City, NV United States 89712Ontario Ministry of Transportation
301 St. Paul Street, 2nd Floor South
St. Catherine, Ontario L2R 7R4Parks Canada / Government of Canada
30 Victoria Street (PC-04-A), Office 417
Gatineau, QC J8X 0B3 -
Managing Organizations:
Nevada Department of Transportation
1263 South Stewart Street
Carson City, NV United States 89712 -
Project Managers:
Chambers, Ken
- Start Date: 20201213
- Expected Completion Date: 0
- Actual Completion Date: 20220930
- Source Data: RiP Project 42063
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Alertness; Animal vehicle crashes; Connectivity; Conservation; Deer; Detectors; Drivers; Habitat (Ecology); Hazard mitigation; Mammals; Street lighting; Technological innovations; Vehicle to vehicle communications; Wildlife; Wildlife crossings
- Geographic Terms: United States
- Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Data and Information Technology; Environment; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01626329
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
- Contract Numbers: TPF-5(358)
- Files: RIP, USDOT, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Feb 22 2017 3:19PM