SANTA CRUZ – Crews are six months into construction on an expansive Highway 17 undercrossing project meant to provide safe passage to human and wildlife commuters alike.
The project is located along the so-called Laurel Curve, which is an especially accident-prone bend on the notoriously dangerous highway. Collisions at this curve frequently involve Santa Cruz wildlife including mountain lions, deer, foxes and badgers, among others.
The 90-foot underpass will stretch beneath all four lanes of north and southbound traffic, providing space for animals to move across the rich mountain habitat while avoiding treacherous and often deadly highway crossings.
“We recognized that this is a chokepoint for wildlife trying to cross 17,” said Laura Dannehl-Schickman, development and communications director for the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, which kickstarted the effort. “Particularly for the Santa Cruz mountain lions who are facing genetic disaster, essentially.”
Collaborative effort
Dannehl-Schickman said the project – which started construction in February – has been 12 years in the making and was conceived, in part, through an early collaboration with biologists from Caltrans and the research organizations Pathways for Wildlife and the Santa Cruz Puma Project.
The collected data suggests that Santa Cruz mountain lions are suffering from a lack of genetic diversity, which often leads to devastating physiological effects and possibly outright extinction.
“These big highways, they can cut off populations on one side of the road from the other,” Founder of the Santa Cruz Puma Project Chris Wilmers told the Sentinel. “By doing that, they create islands of habitat where individuals from one island are not breeding anymore with individuals from the other and one of the long-term consequences of that is you get inbreeding and eventually extinction of these animals.”
In addition to genetic siphoning, the physical threat posed by the more than 65,000 vehicles that travel the highway everyday is also a significant issue for mountain lions and other Santa Cruz wildlife. According to a 2011 study by the land trust, 21 deer, two mountain lions, one bobcat, one coyote, two raccoons and one skunk were killed in vehicle collisions on Laurel Curve alone from 2008 to 2011.
The undercrossing project could help diminish both issues.
Project execution
Animals are often found near Laurel Curve primarily because the surrounding land has not been developed due to its natural landscape. “They know to go this way just because there are no people,” said Dannehl-Schickman.
After recognizing this, the Santa Cruz County Land Trust purchased nearby land and managed to develop two approximately 400-acre conservation easements on either side of the freeway. An 800 acre reserve, uninhabited by humans was finally within reach and other local organizations jumped at the opportunity to contribute to the effort.
“Transportation has such a big effect on other areas beyond just moving people,” said Executive Director of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission Guy Preston. “To really be true to all of the values in the community, our transportation program really needs to consider the wide range of possibilities to meet community goals and values.”
The transportation commission developed a complete fundraising plan for the project, which totals about $12.5 million. Caltrans contributed $5 million in project funding, the Land Trust raised $3 million and the transportation commission added $5 million of its 2016 Measure D funds.
“Everybody was dreaming in the same direction,” said Kevin Drabinski, public information officer for Caltrans. “Everybody had a vision of what this might look like and pulled all their individual resources into something stronger collectively.”
Drabinski said Caltrans crews are currently constructing a series of vertical road supports for what will ultimately become a bridge. Road work is expected until early fall, then, excavation to remove the dirt will begin and the under crossing itself will begin to take shape. The project is on track for completion by the end of the year.
Building momentum
But Santa Cruz County is not alone in its wildlife crossing efforts – organizations across the state appear to be “dreaming in the same direction.” In April, a 200-foot-long wildlife overpass broke ground across Highway 101 at Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Dannehl-Schickman also told the Sentinel that the success of the Laurel Curve project paved the way for a second crossing the Land Trust is pursuing along Highway 101 in San Benito County, which would open up even more acreage for animal roaming.
Preston has spotted a trend as well. “Statewide it’ll definitely become more common,” he said of wildlife crossings. “This would not have been a project that I think could have been funded 10 or 20 years ago, but the change in thinking statewide a well as locally has allowed the funding to materialize so we can actually build this project.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com