Function continues on Highway 17 animal undercrossing

SANTA CRUZ – Crews are 6 months into development on an expansive Freeway 17 undercrossing venture intended to give secure passage to human and wildlife commuters alike.

The venture is positioned together the so-identified as Laurel Curve, which is an in particular accident-inclined bend on the notoriously hazardous highway. Collisions at this curve routinely contain Santa Cruz wildlife which includes mountain lions, deer, foxes and badgers, among the other individuals.

The 90-foot underpass will extend beneath all 4 lanes of north and southbound visitors, supplying room for animals to transfer throughout the rich mountain habitat while avoiding treacherous and normally lethal highway crossings.

“We recognized that this is a chokepoint for wildlife seeking to cross 17,” said Laura Dannehl-Schickman, progress and communications director for the Land Believe in of Santa Cruz County, which kickstarted the work. “Particularly for the Santa Cruz mountain lions who are dealing with genetic catastrophe, effectively.”

Collaborative effort

Dannehl-Schickman said the challenge – which commenced construction in February – has been 12 yrs in the earning and was conceived, in section, through an early collaboration with biologists from Caltrans and the investigation corporations Pathways for Wildlife and the Santa Cruz Puma Project.

The gathered facts indicates that Santa Cruz mountain lions are suffering from a absence of genetic range, which normally potential customers to devastating physiological effects and perhaps outright extinction.

“These massive highways, they can slice off populations on just one aspect of the highway from the other,” Founder of the Santa Cruz Puma Undertaking Chris Wilmers advised the Sentinel. “By undertaking that, they create islands of habitat where persons from one particular island are not breeding anymore with men and women from the other and just one of the prolonged-phrase penalties of that is you get inbreeding and sooner or later extinction of these animals.”

In addition to genetic siphoning, the bodily risk posed by the a lot more than 65,000 motor vehicles that travel the freeway daily is also a major situation for mountain lions and other Santa Cruz wildlife. According to a 2011 examine by the land rely on, 21 deer, two mountain lions, just one bobcat, a person coyote, two raccoons and just one skunk ended up killed in car or truck collisions on Laurel Curve alone from 2008 to 2011.

The undercrossing project could assist diminish each challenges.

Challenge execution

Animals are usually discovered near Laurel Curve primarily mainly because the bordering land has not been made due to its natural landscape. “They know to go this way just simply because there are no people,” stated Dannehl-Schickman.

After recognizing this, the Santa Cruz County Land Trust purchased nearby land and managed to create two around 400-acre conservation easements on either side of the freeway. An 800 acre reserve, uninhabited by humans was ultimately within reach and other local companies jumped at the chance to contribute to the hard work.

“Transportation has these kinds of a major influence on other regions outside of just relocating folks,” said Executive Director of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission Man Preston. “To seriously be genuine to all of the values in the group, our transportation software truly desires to think about the vast array of alternatives to meet neighborhood plans and values.”

The transportation fee created a comprehensive fundraising program for the job, which totals about $12.5 million. Caltrans contributed $5 million in challenge funding, the Land Have confidence in raised $3 million and the transportation fee extra $5 million of its 2016 Measure D cash.

“Everybody was dreaming in the very same direction,” said Kevin Drabinski, community information officer for Caltrans. “Everybody experienced a eyesight of what this might glimpse like and pulled all their person assets into something more robust collectively.”

Drabinski explained Caltrans crews are now constructing a series of vertical road supports for what will eventually turn into a bridge. Street get the job done is envisioned until early drop, then, excavation to take away the dirt will get started and the under crossing itself will start off to take condition. The undertaking is on observe for completion by the conclude of the yr.

Developing momentum

But Santa Cruz County is not by yourself in its wildlife crossing initiatives – organizations throughout the condition seem to be “dreaming in the exact course.” In April, a 200-foot-extensive wildlife overpass broke floor throughout Highway 101 at Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.

Dannehl-Schickman also instructed the Sentinel that the good results of the Laurel Curve challenge paved the way for a second crossing the Land Believe in is pursuing alongside Freeway 101 in San Benito County, which would open up even extra acreage for animal roaming.

Preston has noticed a development as nicely. “Statewide it’ll unquestionably develop into much more prevalent,” he claimed of wildlife crossings. “This would not have been a task that I consider could have been funded 10 or 20 decades in the past, but the change in considering statewide a properly as locally has permitted the funding to materialize so we can essentially create this task.”