A rather nondescript structure of concrete and steel that sits above a major highway in the Northern Rockies is about to take on a new life. In fact, it is going to save lives.
Appropriately referred to as a “bridge to nowhere” because it was abandoned half a century ago, the Interstate-90 overpass near Osburn, Idaho, is getting an influx of funding and hands-on attention so it can transition into a wildlife crossing.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) scheduled a volunteer fence removal day on Saturday, June 28 at 9 a.m. Crews will remove old t-posts, barbed wire and woven wire fencing to prepare the way for construction of two miles of new fencing and 10 one-way gates that will funnel wildlife away from traffic, to the bridge and over the highway.
A late Idaho resident and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation member is the project’s brainchild. Carl Wilson tried to make it a reality over the final years of his life. He passed away in 2022, but others picked up the baton and ran with it. RMEF also played a role by committing funding for the project.
Once completed, game cameras will document how many and what animals use the new crossing.
Studies show wildlife-vehicle crashes kill about one million animals of all kinds per day along America’s roadways. A 2018 IDFG study conducted in southeast Idaho documented more than 700 animals died in car collisions over 10 months along a 63-mile stretch of highway. North Idaho is home to elk, mule and whitetail deer, moose, black bears, mountain lions, turkeys and other species big and small.
If you would like to help with the Osburn project, contact IDFG Wildlife Biologist Laura Wolf at 208-993-0905 for details and to sign up.
(Photo credit: KREM-TV)