World’s Biggest Wildlife Crossing Bridge Is Coming To California
Construction of the world’s largest wildlife crossing bridge will get underway later this month in Southern California. After nearly a decade of planning, the biggest wildlife overpass ever has been…
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 31: An as yet unnamed seven month-old Northern Koala joey clings to his mother Tara after emerging from her pouch at Sydney Wildlife World July 31, 2007 in Sydney, Australia. The zoo has recently had three koala’s give birth to joeys, who have up until recently been mostly living in their mothers pouches, and suckling on milk. The Northern Koala species – a mammal – is on the vulnerable list of animals in New South Wales. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)
Ian Waldie / StaffConstruction of the world’s largest wildlife crossing bridge will get underway later this month in Southern California. After nearly a decade of planning, the biggest wildlife overpass ever has been greenlit and will have its groundbreaking ceremony on April 22nd, which is also Earth Day. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will be 165 feet wide and stretch 210 feet across the 10 lanes of California’s Highway 101 in the Santa Monica mountains west of Los Angeles.
The wildlife crossing bridge won’t just be the largest crossing in the world, but also an engineering marvel designed to seamlessly blend into the mountains and connect large tracts of the 150-thousand acre Santa Monica mountains recreation area. The bridge will have a buffer of local plants and trees on each side and allow animals — including big cats, coyotes, deer, lizards, and snakes — to avoid the 300-thousand cars that pass through the area each day.
The project has been made possible through a public-private partnership involving dozens of organizations with 60% of the $90-million price coming from private donations. A couple from Kansas who visited the city just once donated $675-thousand and Leonardo DiCaprio’s foundation donated $300-thousand for the project. The bridge is expected to take at least three years to complete.
You can see what it will look like here!
