The construction of Santa Monica-Santa Susana Mountains Bridge, the world’s largest wildlife crossing in California that will provide a safe passage for mountain lions, coyotes, deer, snakes, and other creatures across an eight-lane highway, has kicked off after approximately a decade of planning, thanks to both public and private initiatives.
The Santa Monica-Santa Susana Mountains Bridge will link the Santa Monica Mountains on the coast to the areas north and south of the Santa Susana Mountains. This wildlife-rich region is split by the 101 Freeway (US Highway 101) that runs northwest of Los Angeles and which is also one of two major routes that connect that densely populated area to the state’s northernmost portion.
The Santa Monica-Santa Susana Mountains Bridge’s surface will be covered with nearly an acre of native flora, attracting birds, butterflies, bees, lizards, and hundreds of other species that will call the bridge home. According to Robert Rock, the landscape architect in charge of the design, all factors have been considered, from the biology of the soil and its microbes to plant diversity. Vegetation-covered walls will also muffle vehicle noise and block off lights.
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Reasons behind the development of the Santa Monica-Santa Susana mountains bridge
Because of a mountain lion called P-22, who became renowned for crossing two highways and establishing Los Angeles’ huge Griffith Park – at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains – his home, the situation of that species in Southern California drew national and worldwide attention.
P-22 became a symbol of the declining genetic variety of animals imprisoned by urban growth, as well as the face of a fund-raising drive for the new bridge, despite the fact that he is unlikely to utilize it because the park is too far away.
Although the mountain lion avoided being hit by a car, the Federal Highway Administration estimates that 300,000 wild animals are involved in crashes on US highways each year.
