Caltrans is preparing to break ground on a massive wildlife crossing that will span 10 lanes across the busy 101 Freeway in Western Los Angeles County. The roughly $90-million Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is being built to protect and reconnect native animals that have been cutoff by the modern highway.
The public-private partnership project is the result of 20 years of study by the National Park Service, which found roads and development are not only deadly for animals trying to cross, but have also created islands of habitat that can genetically isolate wildlife such as mountain lions, bobcats to birds and lizards.