Thread

Largest wildlife overpass in North America reduced wildlife collision by 91%

105 points · 52 comments · consumer451

ChrisArchitect · 1789869909 · focus · HN ↗
As expected from the press release at open about 9 months ago. (they estimated 90% reduction <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46321557">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46321557)
The $15M price tag still seems like a lot. Happy for the critters and motorists tho
1. consumer451 · 1789872763 · focus · HN ↗
  The ROI is beyond solid. It's actually insane this wasn't done sooner at this location. The normal ROI for a wildlife crossing is 15 years. Here, it's two to three years.
  > Cost savings: Each prevented wildlife–vehicle collision can save thousands of dollars—more than $19,000 per deer crash, $73,000 per elk, and $110,000 per moose—in vehicle, injury, and wildlife costs, making well-placed crossings a strong investment [0]
  This section of highway had one deer-vehicle collision per day.
  365 * $19,000 = $6,935,000 per year.
  [0] <a href="https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2026/01/wildlife-crossings-save-lives-cut-costs-and-protect-animals" rel="nofollow">https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/202...
  ___
  edit: this post and resulting thread made me realize that "wildlife crossing" sounds far too tree-hugger for our society. They need to rebrand to "obvious money-saving infrastructure," or better.
  1. userbinator · 1789880197 · focus · HN ↗
    This section of highway had one deer-vehicle collision per day.
    That sounds like an extreme outlier.
    tenuousemphasis · 1789880508 · focus · HN ↗
    Yes, they place these at places where they're needed, the outliers.

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