Stretching across 10 lanes of highway traffic, the overpass will also include an extension above nearby Agoura Road. P-22, nicknamed the "Brad Pitt of the cougar world," as seen in 2019Īs a #SaveLACougars campaign report notes, the proposed design features a 165-foot-wide by 200-foot-long bridge constructed at the freeway’s 33.0 mile marker. According to authorities, the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing will be not only the first of its kind built near a major metropolis, but the largest in the world. Weber explains that 80 percent of the funds needed to construct the $87 million bridge will come from private sources, while the remaining 20 percent will be drawn from public funds allocated toward conservation campaigns. For those of us in L.A., having a romance prospect quashed by traffic is something we can all relate to.” Pratt adds, “They can’t get out of here to get dates, and cats can’t get in to get dates. “When the freeway went in, it cut off an ecosystem,” Beth Pratt, director of the National Wildlife Federation’s California branch, tells the AP’s Weber. By connecting solitary big cats with other members of the species, the Liberty Canyon overpass could curb mountain lion inbreeding and reintroduce genetic diversity to local populations. Per a study published in the journal Ecological Applicationsthis March, two isolated populations in the Santa Ana and Santa Monica Mountains face extinction within the next 50 years due to low genetic diversity and mortality linked with human activity and environmental changes. This limited geographic range poses a particular threat to mountain lions. Currently, animals hoping to cross the highway are at high risk of becoming roadkill as a result, most are essentially trapped in the Santa Monica Mountains, unable to venture out in search of food and potential mates. Dubbed the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing, the 200-foot-long bridge-expected to provide safe passage for lions, coyotes, deer, lizards, snakes and other wild creatures-is on track for groundbreaking within the next two years and slated to open by 2023.Īccording to Weber, the crossing will enable Southern California’s native wildlife to more freely roam the region’s urban sprawl. A planned animal overpass set to stretch over Los Angeles’ 101 Freeway has entered its final design phase, Christopher Weber reports for the Associated Press.
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