Caltrans and the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County are partnering to enable animals to more safely cross a dangerous and often deadly stretch of Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
“The volume of cars make it extremely perilous. The median barriers which are quite high these days — they make it even more perilous because the animals have to jump over without being able to see what’s happening on the other side,” says Chris Wilmer from the Santa Cruz Puma Project.Researchers estimate that roughly 350 animals, including four mountain lions, have been killed in collisions with cars at Laurel Curve on Highway 17 between 2012 and 2017.
Caltrans is planning to tunnel underneath the busy highway to create an animal underpass where wildlife can safely cross. “Once we knew that this was the critical location — that this effectively formed a wildlife super highway that was bisected by Hwy 17 — we started to look at what it would take to create a wildlife crossing here,” says Sarah Newkirk, Executive Director of the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County.For the past decade, the Land Trust has been acquiring land on both sides of Highway 17 in order to make the underpass possible.
Newkirk says the highway tended to trap animals on one side or the other or make the crossing a risky proposition.“It’s dangerous not just for wildlife. It’s dangerous for people too, right? When you’re driving along the road and something is trying to cross in front of you, it’s terrifying and you may swerve to try to not hit the animal,” Newkirk said.Construction is expected to last roughly six months and will occur largely at night, when the impact to the driving public will be minimal.
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