Oracle Road Wildlife Crossings: Promoting Habitat Connectivity

The Regional Transportation Authority partnered with the Arizona DOT to construct two wildlife crossing structures (one overpass and one underpass) with adjacent wildlife-funnel fencing on Oracle Road to help wildlife move between protected habitat areas. The two wildlife crossing structures were constructed at the best available location to accommodate both large mammals and small animals, and were designed to provide adequate shield animals from the sights, smells, and sounds of the road. The project costs were shared with other infrastructure construction along the road. In the first two years following construction, 16 different wildlife species were documented using the crossings over 4,400 times.