Animal Bridges Over Freeways Are Appearing All Over The Globe, Helping All Varieties Of Creatures

Jul 08, 2019 by apost team

People are waking up to the need to protect and take care of animals. Our infrastructure of roads and highways has taken over the natural habitat of thousands of species making their everyday lives more challenging and dangerous. Fortunately, in the past few years, the awareness that we live in a single planet with these animals has brought forth improvements.

One such improvement is the newly built animal-crossing bridges that are being built all over the world. This is done so that animals have a safe way of crossing highways where cars go at high speeds and it is impossible for animals to cross unharmed unless the traffic stops.

It is hard for some drivers to be careful with the animal crossings. Signs of animal crossing sections are seldom adhered to by drivers that are in a rush. Besides being deadly for animals that are just grazing on their land, the road collisions as a result of animal crossings cost the USA government over $8 billion yearly, according to Fast Company.

This is a huge sum of money that can go to other things.

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Thankfully, the solution to this problem has been found in the face of animal bridges. These bridges are enormous and are built over freeways. To make it clear to animals that these bridges are the way to go instead of the road, the bridges are covered in grass and bushes to look completely natural.

These bridges are stunningly beautiful and look great with a helicopter view. It might be a surprise to some, but these bridges are not anything new. It is only surprising why they were not utilized on a massive scale earlier.

According to My Modern Met, the crossing bridges date back to the 1950s in France. Europe has installed these bridges all over its continent. A single small country of Holland has 66 bridges for wildlife. The longest animal bridge that exists is one of these 66 bridges. It is the Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailoo — a bridge that goes over buildings, railways, and rivers for half a mile.

The most impressive of these in the United States is found in Washington. It is primarily a passage for squirrels crossing the road. Canada has gone so far as to construct 44 bridges just in Banff National Park, the Calgary Herald informs. After this step, the park has reduced its animal/vehicle collisions by 80%.

North America is planning on building more of these bridges in the future. This is good news for both animals and drivers.

Watch the video to learn more about the bridges in Banff National Park:

What do you think of the animal bridges? What other steps can be taken to improve the lives of wild animals? Let us know in the comments and don't forget to spread awareness by showing this video to your friends and family!