Connecting wildlife habitats across a major four-lane highway.
Assist in the design of the first wildlife overpass in Ontario
Task
Conduct surveys of wildlife movements and migrations and determine the best location and design to accommodate a wide variety of wildlife species and allow them to safely cross a four-lane Provincial highway.
Client
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation wanted to conduct a comparison between the first wildlife overpass and an adjacent wildlife underpass as part of the four-laning of Highway 69.
Challenge
Determine the best location and design for the wildlife overpass while keeping costs within a reasonable budget.
Solution
FRi Ecological Services was able to identify locations both for the wildlife overpass and underpass based on historical use of target wildlife species including elk, white-tailed deer and moose.
Result
Monitoring confirms that the overpass is a huge success conveying moose, white-tailed deer, black bear, bobcat, wolves, coyote, raccoon and hares safely across the Highway 69 corridor.