Summary

• The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has built 32 wildlife crossings throughout the state to help keep both drivers and animals safe.

• Twenty-one of the bridges were built in locations in South Texas, including Corpus Christi, Pharr, and Laredo, to protect ocelots, which are an endangered species.

• Other wildlife crossings have been installed in Corpus Christi, El Paso, and Austin to protect other endangered species, such as the Houston toad and mule deer.

• The crossings are concrete tunnels connecting existing wildlife paths under highways.

• They are designed to guide wildlife to pass under the road rather than over it, which reduces the number of wildlife vehicle collisions.

• The crossings also have benefits for humans, such as reducing collision-related expenses and improving highway safety.

• So far, efforts to build wildlife crossings have been successful, with 26 documented sightings of species using the crossings.

• Thirteen more of the crossings are planned for the Pharr area.

Additional details

• The Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program is part of the $1.12 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which made $350 million available over five years for construction of wildlife crossings.