RATON, N.M. (KRQE) – New Mexico is paving the way in the mission to keep people from crashing into wildlife on state highways. There’s a first-of-its-kind underpass on I-25 in Raton that the New Mexico Department of Transportation is now showing off saying it’s already proving to funnel wild animals under the freeway and cut down on crashes.
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For years, the busy stretch of I-25 through Raton near the Colorado border has been known as a dangerous stretch for both drivers and animals. “Here in New Mexico, in the west as well, there are a lot of wildlife-vehicle collisions that result in multiple deaths of wildlife and humans,” said Bryan Bird, Southwest Director at Defenders of Wildlife.
But now, there’s a new way for animals to pass the road, which NMDOT said is safer for everyone. The $4.5 million underpass, finished late last year, allows for wildlife to walk under the freeway and the state said it’s already working.
“What was nice is that the Game and Fish and the DOT, the department they’re actually able to put game cameras. So, you can actually see wildlife passing through there and how much their utilizing it,” said Travis Martinez, NMDOT District 4 Representative.
It’s the first large project like this in New Mexico, years after the state made a plan to address areas where crashes with wild animals are frequent.
“New Mexico was the first to pass a law that directed the Department of Transportation and the Game and Fish Department to work together to identify these collision hot spots,” said Bird.
The state said the Raton underpass isn’t the only project. They’ve identified 11 hotspot sites statewide where they’re planning more work. The Raton project is now being studied by neighboring states to see how it works in the long term.
“What type of traffic does Colorado have that’s similar to us and Arizona? Obviously, we’re southwestern New Mexico, we have almost the same type of species of wildlife and what works for one can work for the other,” said Martinez.
NMDOT said they have more than $7 million for work on two other wildlife-related road projects now in the planning phases. That includes one along I-25, north of Las Vegas near Watrous.
The Raton wildlife underpass also earned some national recognition from the Corrugated Steel Pipe Association which named it the “project of the year” in the United States.
