A leisurely drive in Colorado’s high country can provide some spectacular views. But too many people have learned that there’s a sometimes price—often steep—for roadway nature gazing and its regularly nature itself.
Deer, elk, bear and other animals—all of whom have been here long before an inch of asphalt was laid—move when and where they want to move. This call of nature often means they’re moving right into the paths of cars, trucks and motorcycles zipping down both back country roads and heavily traveled interstate highways. This unfortunate reality can be costly, painful and sometimes deadly.
According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, these regrettable ‘meet-ups’ are adding up to an estimated yearly cost exceeding $300 million. The figure is the total in property damage while also boosting insurance premiums. An auto-deer collision, CDOT says, can cost somewhere north of $17,000 in damage. Loss of life is an additional variable.
The Pew Research Center estimated that each year there are as many as two million vehicle and animal collisions costing as much as $1.8 billion annually. Nationally, these encounters result in as many as 200 deaths each year.
One spot currently being monitored is on I-25 near the Colorado-New Mexico state line. “We’ve installed cameras,” said Colorado State University-Pueblo engineering professor, M.D. Islam. Employing CSU-Pueblo students, said Islam, the cameras hope is to isolate some of the patterns, including peak crossing periods along with data showing which animals are involved in most of the accidents.
For the project, CDOT had built a fence to detour some of the animal crossings, but it did not have the same impact on all of the animals. Deer, bear and pronghorn, said CDOT’s Gabe Cosyleon, can be predictable in where and how they cross roadways. “But elk? Not so much.” Researchers have found that solving the problem is not a ‘one size fits all’ kind of thing.
Some animals, said Islam, “don’t like to go under culverts,” paths that go underneath roadways. The CSU-Pueblo engineer said, “they’re scared because of the (vehicle) sounds.”
CDOT, said Cosyleon, has been focused on solving or, at least, reducing these close vehicle-animal encounters for a number of years. It has built a series of 40 underpasses, three bridges and miles of fencing to minimize these collisions. In some areas, they have been an almost shocking success, reducing these encounters by as much as 90 percent.
To determine where a fence, underpass or above ground option will work best, the Pueblo native said the department employs the help of maintenance workers. “When maintenance crews are out, they pick up broken wreckage, they pick up animals that are killed on the highway and we track that (information).” The immediate area north of Raton Pass, he said, “is one of the highest (animal) corridors in the state.” It is also the reason for investing approximately $270,000 in the CSU-Pueblo/CDOT project.
While the number of vehicle-animal collisions may not seem like a pressing problem to urban dwellers, the figures tell a different story. Cosyleon says each year in Colorado, “there are more animals killed by vehicles than by hunters,” estimating that these encounters kill more than 4,000 animals each year. He also said that the figure, while high, may actually be twice that number.
While vehicle-animal collisions are regular occurrences in Colorado, our state doesn’t even crack the top twenty in these types of accidents. West Virginia ranks number one for vehicle-animal accidents. State Farm Insurance did a survey that said West Virginians had a one in 37 chance of hitting an animal on the roadways each year.
Data compiled by CDOT and its national counterparts will ideally make driving a bit safer. But it will also be a benefit for animals, especially during migrations. The fewer vehicle-animal encounters, especially during migratory periods, can stabilize herd populations and maintain a more natural environmental balance. Colorado wildlife, especially elk and deer, have annual migration routes. They move to where food is more plentiful which means going from higher to lower elevations in warmer weather. These movements can literally mean hundreds of animals crossing the busiest interstates at any given time. Investing in safer crossing options for these herds or even stragglers can make it safer for both vehicles and animals.
