News & Media

Tree-covered wildlife crossing proposed near Vail

January 24, 2011
Associated Press
 
DENVER — A New York firm has won an international contest to design a highway wildlife crossing near Vail.
 
The winning design, announced Sunday, is for a broad overpass covered by trees, shrubs and grasses to blend in with the landscape on either side of Interstate 70. It’s aimed at reducing the number of collisions between cars and wildlife like deer, coyote and big-horn sheep.
 
The Denver Post reports that the design by HNTB with Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates would allow crews to build the overpass without shutting down traffic.
 
The Colorado Department of Transportation worked with the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University to solicit designs. However, Colorado doesn’t have the money to build the overpass anytime soon.