"Over the last three years, a huge bridge has appeared across California’s Ventura Freeway – but this isn’t just any old overpass. This one is set to be the world’s largest wildlife crossing, and it’s being built with the aim of reconnecting some of the state’s most important animal life," the IFL Science reports.

"Known as the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, the bridge will be 64 meters (210 feet) long and 52 meters (170 feet) wide, stretching across 10 lanes of the freeway in Agoura Hills. According to those behind the project, this will make it the largest wildlife crossing of its kind, and the first of its scale in an urban area.

"The idea for the bridge arose out of research that identified declining genetic diversity in the Southern California population of cougars (also known as mountain lions). While other factors are involved, those behind the development of the crossing have said the main issue driving this decline is habitat loss and fragmentation – specifically, that caused by roads and development."

"The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing (formerly Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing) is an under construction vegetated overpass spanning the Ventura Freeway and Agoura Road at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills, California. Once completed, the bridge will be the largest wildlife crossing in the world, connecting the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains over a ten-lane freeway.

"A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Earth Day in April 2022 with Governor Gavin Newsom, Wallis Annenberg, wildlife biologists and members of the public along with local, state and federal legislators. Caltrans set the beginning of construction for spring 2022 with construction to be completed within two years. Initial work included moving public utilities. As of mid-2024, the work is expected to finish by early 2026." (Wikipedia)

"The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is a public-private partnership of monumental scope that has leveraged the expertise and leadership of dozens of organizations and institutions to protect and restore wildlife habitats in Southern California. The crossing is currently in construction and is expected to be finished in 2026," the official website says.

"Construction is now on its way and when built, the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will be the largest wildlife corridor in the world and will restore habitats and an ecosystem that over time has been degraded by human development. The bridge will allow for wildlife to cross freely over the 101 freeway without the threat of death or accidents, and will ensure the survival of many isolated species."

"Above the whirring of 300,000 cars each day on Los Angeles’s 101 freeway, an ambitious project is taking shape. The Wallis Annenberg wildlife crossing is the largest wildlife bridge in the world at 210ft long and 174ft wide, and this week it’s had help taking shape: soil," The Guardian reports.

"The plot is a native wildlife habitat that connects two parts of the Santa Monica mountain range, with the hopes of saving creatures – from the famous local mountain lions, down to frogs and insects – from being crushed by cars on one of the nation’s busiest roadways.

"With nearly an acre of local plants on either side and thick vegetated sound walls 12ft high to dampen light and noise for nocturnal animals as they slip across, it’s an unprecedented feat of engineering. Imagination, too."

"The structure crosses a 10-lane freeway and has been built to help protect all sorts of wildlife, including mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, mule deer, black bears, Pacific gopher snakes and crocodile lizards," the BBC Wildlife Magazine reports.

"The world’s largest wildlife crossing, the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, is now standing west of Los Angeles in California. This behemoth, a feat of sustainable engineering that will reconnect habitats bisected by the 10-lane 101 Freeway, has been in discussion for more than 30 years.

When fully completed, the crossing in Liberty Canyon within the Agoura Hills region of the Santa Monica Mountains will be a living lifeline for reptiles and mammals to reach habitats on either side of the fast-flowing freeway. Not only will it be the first of its kind in California, but it’s hoped it will also act as a “global model for urban wildlife conservation”.

"Adding soil is a big deal because it means we’re nearing the end of Stage 1, when the top is seeded and then planted with native shrubs and perennials, work that should be completed this summer, said Robert Rock, chief executive of Chicago-based Rock Design Associates and the landscape architect overseeing the project," the Los Angeles Times reports.

"Stage 2, the final phase, will connect the structure to the hills at the north and south so that wildlife, like L.A.’s famous, ill-fated cougar, P-22, can use it. That stage will start with burying utility lines along a section of Agoura Road, south of the crossing, and moving water lines for recycled water used for irrigation.

"Late in 2025 or early 2026, Agoura Road will be closed for a few months so the roadway can be covered with a tunnel and lots of soil collected from the Malibu Lake area. The goal is to create natural slopes off the crossing — an additional 12 acres of space that will be planted with native shrubs, perennials, grasses and trees to make the crossing blend as much as possible with the surrounding hills."

"Just last month, the first of 82 large concrete beams went up over U.S. Highway 101 at Liberty Canyon Road in Agoura Hills. The project has been made possible by a successful public-private partnership. Philanthropy has raised more than $34 million in funding, while California has provided $58.1 million in funding," the Governor of California says.



Why it matters 

• U.S. Highway 101 is one of the biggest barriers to wildlife connectivity in Southern California. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will reconnect habitats and improve the health of the environment for many species in Southern California, including people.
• More than 30 years of conservation work has gone into strategic habitat linkages on both sides of U.S. Highway 101 so that this wildlife crossing will connect protected lands in the Santa Monica Mountains and the Sierra Madre Range.
• This project will help educate millions of Californians driving under the crossing and advance California’s 30×30 goal to conserve 30% of the state’s lands and coastal waters by 2030, ensuring that wildlife can move across conserved habitats that provide shelter, food and water. 
  

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