How did the wildlife cross the King County road?
May 2, 2012, 12:22 PM | Updated: 3:48 pm
 King County received a $6 million grant to create this overpass for wildlife. (Image courtesy King County) |
How did the bear, deer, and cougar cross the road?
It sounds like the beginning of a joke destined for the
playground, but it’s actually a $6 million project
underway on Novelty Hill Road in King County.
The punch line: A bridge designed just for wildlife to
cross the road where nearly 40,000 cars travel a day. The
combination of an active wildlife area and high road
volume inspired King County officials to tackle the animal
hazard by giving them their own bridge.
The county has fenced the road off about a half-mile in
each
direction on both sides to encourage animals
to use the designated crossing. They’re also trying to add
features that will encourage the animals to use the
crossing.
“[A] fence itself wouldn’t just stop animals from crossing
the road,” project manager Rick Brater told 97.3 KIRO FM’s Dori Monson
Show. Animal territories extend beyond roads and
fences, which means they’ll regularly want to cross the
road and find out what’s on the other side.
Before you get upset about the price tag – it isn’t funded
by local taxes, but you are, still, contributing to the
funds.
“It’s 100 percent grant funded,” said Brater. “We
otherwise would never be able to address this – then
through this grant we were able to secure.”
So the answer to what Brater calls a safety issue, and the
answer to our playground joke is answered by the King
County Road Services Division with an “elevated wildlife
crossing” between Redmond Ridge Drive NE and 234th
Place NE.
There are a lot of places where roads co-mingle with local
wildlife; it makes sense that these bridges could pop up
all over the place. But the funding, according to to
Brater is only enough for one bridge.
“Certainly, maybe there are other areas where the same
kind of opportunity, that would help separate wildlife and
vehicles, would be a great thing to enhance safety. But, I
think in that sense, there is probably a greater need than
we can possibly meet.”
