Work at the wildlife intersection that crosses the 101 highway in Agoura Hills will enter its final stages.
The final stage of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing project will be added to the current 10 lanes on the highway, with secondary structures on adjacent Agoura Road. Once completed, the structure provides a landscaped path for mountain lions and other animals to cross the busy 101 highway northwest of Los Angeles.
The additional span on the two-lane road is much smaller than the bridge on the highway, but is more complicated due to the earthwork required for the foundation and surrounding habitat.
The first layer of soil was placed in March, when the project marches when it enters the landscaping phase. The world’s largest bridge features nearly an acre of wildlife habitat in about 6,000 cubic yards of soil.
Rendering of Agoura Road Span from Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Agoura Hills. Credit: Rock Design Associates
Construction will begin at Earth in 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2026.
“Today, the state is quickly beginning its final stages of construction for what will cross the world’s largest urban wildlife, thanks to the visionary work of national, federal and private partners,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will soon protect Los Angeles wildlife and more than 300,000 drivers daily, providing a cutting-edge model of urban wildlife conservation.”
Rendering of Agoura Road Span from Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Agoura Hills. Credit: Rock Design Associates
The soil phase of the project included opinions from scientists, biologists, engineers and mycologists who selected the best soil and fungi for the bridge. After the soil is placed, the next project stage will involve planting about 5,000 native plants that will grow into habitats such as mountain lions, deer, bats, desert coton tiles, bobcats, native birds, and monarch butterflies.
Coastal sage scrub plant species native to the mountains of Santa Monica fill most of the bridge. This is part of a broader ecological restoration strategy that will activate an additional 12 acres of open space that requires 50,000 native plants, trees, shrubs and perennials.
Rendering of the Wallis Annenberg wildlife under construction in Agra Hills. Credit: Rock Design Associates and National Wildlife Federation
For the past three years, dedicated native plant nursery at Wildlife Crossing has been handpicked beyond 1.1. 1 million hyperlocal native seeds representing over 50 different native plant species in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Nursery staff have also begun cultivating plants and tree species such as live oak trees on the coast, Valley Oak, Toyon, Ceanotus, some sages, Californian beside, and flowering pensume on.
Rendering of the Wallis Annenberg wildlife under construction in Agra Hills. Credit: Rock Design Associates and National Wildlife Federation
Native vegetation helps reduce the risk of fires and better support wildlife. The crew is expected to implement full irrigation and sprinkler systems as part of the intersection.
The nursery is overseen by Rock Design Associates, Landscape Architecture Company, and is supported by experts from the Santa Monica Mountains Fund, the National Park Service, Cartrun and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Department.
“This intersection is a story of hope, a hope for a better future for wildlife, a story of partnership and collaboration,” said Beth Pratt, Regional Executive Director of the California Wildlife Federation and leader of the #Savelacougars campaign. “We have had a major challenge in building wildlife across one of the nation’s largest and busiest highways and one of the most populous regions in the United States.
“But this visionary dream has become a reality as many people, agency teams, elected officials, scientists, donors, artists, volunteers, communities and the public united around the important causes of protecting Mountain Lions and all the wildlife on Mount Santa Monica. Photographs of Cougars at the intersection – what a moment for all of us.”
A live feed of the construction site across the 101 highway in Agoura Hills can be found here.
Rendering of the Wallis Annenberg wildlife under construction in Agra Hills. Credit: Rock Design Associates and National Wildlife Federation
Why is the 101 highway wildlife crossing being built?
It is estimated that mountain lion populations in the Santa Monica Mountains could become extinct within 50 years without an influx of genetic diversity. Lions are largely isolated due to the highways that serve as barriers to movement throughout the region.
Conservationists hope that the $85 million intersection will mitigate the problem.
The star of the fundraising campaign was Mountain Lion P-22. Famous for traveling two highways and making the giant Los Angeles Park home, the big cat must be trapped in the risk of expansive development and road kills, becoming a symbol of reduced genetic diversity in wildlife.
Rendering of the Wallis Annenberg wildlife under construction in Agra Hills. Credit: Rock Design Associates and National Wildlife Federation
Vehicles and poisons like rat poison are two of the biggest threats to mountain lions in Southern California.
Scientists tracking cougars wearing GPS collars have found for decades that roads have mainly trapped animals in mountains running along the Malibu coast and P-22s running along the calm Griffith Park.
The idea is not new, but what makes this project different is that it is on one of the busiest highways in the world. The bridge extends 200 feet above 10 highway lanes and features a feeder road just 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
The $90 million price tag is covered by approximately 60% of private donations, with the remainder from public funds set aside for conservation purposes. Span will be named Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing for a philanthropist whose foundation has donated $25 million.
Wildlife intersections – bridges and tunnels – are common in Western Europe and Canada. The famous one in Alberta’s Banff National Park spans the Canadian Trans Highway and is frequently used by Bears, Moose and Elk.
The Los Angeles Area Bridge enjoys near-universal support, which is rare for public works projects. According to the Wildlife Federation, the Environmental Impact Document Draft received approximately 9,000 comments.
California has around 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions, but wildlife officials are calling it a crude estimate without ongoing research throughout the state. More than half of the state is considered the main habitat for large cats.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife receives hundreds of mountain lions every year. Few things pose mountain lions as identified as pose an imminent threat to public safety, the department said. Mountain lions’ attacks on humans are extremely rare, and their nature is to avoid humans.
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