New bridge planned over Mass Pike for deer and hikers to share
BECKET - A new bridge is coming to western Massachusetts to help humans and animals alike cross the Mass Pike.
The project will replace an existing bridge crossing in Becket where the Appalachian Trail intersects the highway, an area that sees a high number of collisions between drivers and deer.
New Mass Pike bridge project
The Federal Highway Administration recently announced that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation was awarded a $1.7 million grant for the bridge. Sixteen wildlife crossing projects nationwide received $125 million in grants from the bipartisan infrastructure law signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
The new bridge "will offer separate and distinct areas for wildlife, pedestrians and hikers and include fencing to help funnel wildlife to the crossings," the administration said.
The cost of wildlife collisions
About 200 people are killed and 26,000 injured every year in the United States because of wildlife collisions involving large animals, and the financial cost of those incidents add up to more than $10 billion annually, the administration said.
Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg says the wildlife crossing projects will reduce the number of collisions.
"Too many Americans are injured or killed each year in crashes involving cars and wildlife, especially in rural areas - which is why our Department created the first-ever program dedicated to crossings that make roads and highways safer for both humans and wildlife," Buttigieg said in a statement.
In California, construction is underway on an $87 million wildlife crossing over the 10-lane 101 Freeway near Los Angeles, where researchers worry that the local mountain lion population could become extinct if they are unable to navigate the area safely.
