{"id":29321,"date":"2026-07-16T13:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/?p=29321"},"modified":"2026-07-14T13:18:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T17:18:36","slug":"americas-first-wildlife-highway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/americas-first-wildlife-highway\/29321\/","title":{"rendered":"In North Carolina, America’s first major wildlife highway is taking shape with green bridges and underground tunnels that let bears, deer, and mountain lions cross safely beneath busy roads"},"content":{"rendered":"

A black bear leaves the woods. Instead of crossing four lanes of speeding traffic<\/strong>, the bear steps onto a grass-covered bridge spanning the interstate.<\/p>\n

Cars whizz by below.<\/p>\n

This is not a picture taken in the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is happening today on Interstate Highway 40 in North Carolina.<\/p>\n

North Carolina is currently constructing America’s first large-scale<\/strong> wildlife highway.<\/p>\n

Why animals needed a new way to cross<\/h2>\n

North Carolina is one of the most biologically diverse states in the country.<\/p>\n

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pisgah National Forest, and Cherokee National Forest come together. They create a large corridor of undeveloped land.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interstate Highway 40 runs directly through the center of this corridor.<\/p>\n

It divides one of the most important<\/strong> wildlife corridors in the state.<\/p>\n

Black bears, elk, bobcats, deer, and other wildlife need to travel between protected habitats.<\/p>\n

When they attempt to do so and cross over Interstate 40, the results are devastating.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the Federal Highway Administration, North Carolina ranked 12th for wildlife-vehicle crashes. Over 62,000 were reported between 2021 and 2023.<\/p>\n

In total, there are approximately 2 million wildlife vehicle crashes<\/strong> each year nationwide. Such crashes can cause thousands of dollars in damage.<\/p>\n

Animals were dying, habitat fragmentation was increasing, and it became clear that something needed to happen.<\/p>\n

Funding turned the idea into reality<\/h2>\n

In 2023, North Carolina became the first state to provide specific funding<\/strong> for wildlife crossings. Its General Assembly allocated $2 million for such purposes.<\/p>\n

Two years later (in 2025), North Carolina legislators provided a long-term funding solution.<\/p>\n

Every two years since then, $10.2 million has been allocated by North Carolina. Such ongoing funding will allow long-term wildlife crossing projects<\/strong> to move forward over decades.<\/p>\n

The Safe Passage Coalition, which has advocated for this type of funding since 2017, continued bringing partners together.<\/p>\n

Nearly twenty federal, state, tribal, and non-profit agencies formed a partnership.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Together, they work to make mountain highways in North Carolina and Tennessee safer for both wildlife and motorists. Their primary goal focused on the Pigeon River Gorge area along I-40.<\/p>\n

In 2022, the North Carolina DOT incorporated a wildlife “bench.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

During bridge repair at Harmon Den along I-40, engineers created a flat section rather than extending stone to the top of a steep embankment.<\/p>\n

They carved it into the side of the embankment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, animals may cross safely under I-40. Trail cams show that animals are indeed<\/a> using the underpass already.<\/p>\n

The vision extends far beyond one bridge<\/h2>\n

Green bridges, tunnels, and other wildlife crossings will allow<\/strong> bears, deer, elk, and mountain lions to move safely between habitats.<\/p>\n

The ultimate vision for wildlife passages extends far beyond a single crossing project.<\/p>\n

Rather than relying on a single crossing, the plan links green bridges, underpasses, fencing, and other measures together. The result is one continuous wildlife corridor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How the wildlife highway will work<\/h3>\n

Native plant-covered green bridges spanning across highways<\/a> will resemble natural hillsides from overhead. Underground tunnels or culverts will funnel animals under roadways.<\/p>\n

Fences will redirect wildlife toward safe crossing points.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Studies have shown that such wildlife passages can decrease collisions by as much as 90%.<\/p>\n

Similar systems have already been developed<\/strong> in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon.<\/p>\n

North Carolina is now leading similar efforts on the East Coast.<\/p>\n

Funding will help launch additional wildlife crossing projects throughout the state<\/a>. Engineers will identify where wildlife crosses highways and build crossing systems in those areas.<\/p>\n

Maintenance costs associated with these crossings will be covered by government funding.<\/p>\n

Those crossings will then be maintained for generations.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the wildlife using them, the change is already evident.<\/p>\n

A bear going through a culvert does not know that it was built by humans. It only knows it provides an easier <\/strong>way through.<\/p>\n

If one highway can be changed to help wildlife, how many other parts of America’s transportation network could<\/a> also be changed?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A black bear leaves the woods. Instead of crossing four lanes of speeding traffic, the bear steps onto a grass-covered bridge spanning the interstate. Cars whizz by below. This is not a picture taken in the future. This is happening today on Interstate Highway 40 in North Carolina. North Carolina is currently constructing America’s first … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":29345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"wildlife,highway,North,Carolina","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"North Carolina is building America's first major wildlife highway, using green bridges and tunnels to help wildlife move safely between habitats and food.","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobility"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}