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. lennartb · 1789900402 · focus · HN ↗
    I know cost-effectivness is often the deciding factor, but that's kinda sad, so: One deer hit a day, down 91% means ~330 deers saved per year. $15m spread over the working population (160m) of the US is less than $0.10 per person. So you're spending $0.10 to save 330 deer, which is a trade I would make.
    metiscus · 1789917247 · focus · HN ↗
    You have to realize that it isn't just about saving deer. If you hit a deer at speed, it is going to do massive damage to your vehicle and potentially cause significant injury to the passengers, up to and including death. Overt fatalities are reportedly rare, like 0.1% or something, but the injury rate is closer to 5%.
    treis · 1789923171 · focus · HN ↗
    The US does not have a shortage of deer. Mostly the opposite as their natural predators have been drastically reduced in numbers.

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