A $120 million highway crossing is being built just for animals

A $120 million highway crossing is being built just for animals. Some argue they should be built “everywhere” but others have rejected the plan.

Crews have broken ground on a much-anticipated wildlife crossing over a highway in Los Angeles.

Designed to provide relief for landlocked mountain lions and other animals, the roughly $120 million crossing over the 101 Freeway in Liberty Canyon is envisioned as the largest crossing of its kind in the world, spanning 65m over 10 lanes of highway and pavement.

It is also the first to be significantly funded through private donations along with public support and received incredible feedback when articles about the construction trended this week.

“They work. Please build it,” Pam Nichols wrote. “Please build them everywhere.”

“We need more of these crossings instead of multibillion dollar sports stadiums,” Ligaya Yado added.

But others weren’t convinced it was a smart move.

“Holy cow, I’m all for conservation and environmental protection, but LA needs to get its priorities in order, starting with the homelessness problem,” Connor Caudill said.

“These wildlife overpasses are great in theory but have created an interesting problem in other places that they have been implemented,” Darrell Lee added. “They funnel both predators and prey through the same narrow passage and predators have learned that all they have to do is hang out and the food will eventually come to them.”

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The crossing spans 65m. Picture: Living Habitats and National Wildlife Federation

Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Los Angeles. Picture: Living Habitats and National Wildlife Federation

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is being developed following 20 years of studies from the National Park Service that found roads and urban development are deadly for animals trying to navigate the Los Angeles area.

Urban development has also created islands of habitats that can genetically isolate the region’s animals.

The start of construction comes one day after a mountain lion was fatally struck by a vehicle on the 405 Freeway in the Brentwood area, highlighting the need for safe routes that Los Angeles’ diverse wildlife can access.

“This week was supposed to be one of celebration as we mark the groundbreaking of a wildlife bridge in Agoura Hills. Instead, we’re saddened by the violent death of yet another mountain lion,” said J.P. Rose, a senior lawyer at the Center for Biological Diversity.

“These tragedies are preventable if California invested in more wildlife crossings, which protect both wildlife and people from dangerous collisions. I hope our leaders in Sacramento take a serious look at the Safe Roads and Wildlife Protection Act, a sensible piece of legislation that will bring more wildlife crossings to the state.”

Some of the foot traffic expected to cross. Picture: Living Habitats and National Wildlife Federation

The mountain lion’s death Thursday in the Brentwood area was the second in less than a month. Another lion was killed by a vehicle on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu on March 23.

Researchers have estimated that the mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains could become extinct within 50 years without an influx of genetic diversity.

The lions are largely isolated due to freeways that act as barriers to movement across the region.

The crossing aims to provide a connection between the small population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains and the larger and genetically diverse populations to the north.

The crossing will be the largest of its kind. Picture: Living Habitats and National Wildlife Federation

The crossing is named for the Annenberg Foundation, a major financial contributor to the effort.

The effort is a public-private partnership that includes Caltrans, the National Park Service, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy/Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains and the National Wildlife Federation. The design team is being led by Living Habitats LLC.

This article was originally published by Fox News and reproduced with permission