STRUCTURES TO SAVE ANIMALS

sions,” NDOT and NDOW began creating heat maps to find spots they believed a wildlife crossing was most needed.

A majority of the overpasses are located outside of the Las Vegas area.

The only wildlife bridge in Southern Nevada is the Boulder City Bypass, a $1.6 million project which was built in 2018 alongside the completion of I-11, Simpson said. Concerned for the bighorn sheep population in the area, NDOT incorporated the wildlife bridge into the bypass’s master plan.

Simpson said there have been zero reported collisions with the local bighorn sheep since the bridge was completed.

Although these structures are similar to a pedestrian bridge you’d see on the Strip, wildlife crossings are typically designed to emulate the surrounding environment, Simpson said.

“So, animals don’t necessarily understand the human environment, so what we try to do is reduce the impact that we’re making by making these structures as natural as possible,” Simpson said.

Bridges are often covered with grass, dirt and shrubs while many underpasses are carved out of existing washes or other caverns underneath roads. It helps provide cover for big and small species while reducing stress on the animals.

Fencing is also erected in the areas surrounding the bridges to encourage animals to use them instead of attempting a frightening dash across the road.

Animals eventually learn to cross them and pass that knowledge down to their offspring, Mckee said.

An acute need

From wild mustangs in Reno to the mule deer in Elko and bighorn sheep in Boulder City, every area of Nevada has a species that locals have seen one too many vehicles hit.

“Why did the chicken cross the road?” Cox said jokingly about the need for animals to migrate. “Some of these roadways are smack dab in the middle of (the animals’) home range, (and) they need to get across to survive, to find the food they need.”

Nevada sees more than 500 car crashes involving wild and domestic animals each year, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation. This results in crash costs of over $19 million and kills an estimated 5,032 animals

But that is just what is being reported.

Officials at NDOT believe the number could be much higher, especially considering wildlife-involved crashes cause $5 billion to $8 billion in damage each year nationally.

The state spends about $20 million a year on these crashes — much of it going toward infrastructure damages, human injuries, losses of human and animal life, emergency response, traffic control and travel delays.

Previous wildlife crossings have been funded through the state, Simpson said. There’s no average cost for these projects, but they can be upwards of millions of dollars. Trying to get that funding amidst some of the other priorities NDOT has can be difficult.

“Funding has been a challenge,” Simpson said. “We, as a department, have so many different needs … when it comes to animal-vehicle collisions, that is fairly low on the list of NDOT needs, and so we’re competing with all these other needs.”

There are no plans for more wildlife crossings in Southern Nevada, but the passing of Assembly Bill 112 and continued development of the region might change that, officials said.

“We are a desert environment, (and) do not have dense populations of wildlife so we do try to protect and do the right thing for the wildlife we have here because it’s important to the citizens, and that’s important to us as well,” Simpson said.