Wildlife aimed at helping the mountain range lions, deer, bobcats and other creatures travel on Highway 101 between Mount Simi and Santa Monica, will reach a major milestone on Monday as workers lay the first layer of soil on the bridge.
Wallis Annenberg Wildlife crosses the 10-lane highway across the Agoura Hills and will become The largest intersection In the world. It is designed to help animals avoid being killed while roaming through urban habitats. Even though it’s too late to help Los Angeles Beloved mountain lion P-22 Expanding his territory, the passageway will allow mountains and other wildlife to attract food and companions further away.
The expressway has isolated the Little Puma crowd, whose descendants show signs of birth defects.
“I imagine the future of all the wildlife in our area where it is possible to survive and thrive, and putting the first soil on the bridge means closer to reality,” philanthropist Annenberg said in a statement.
“This extraordinary structure will not only serve animals, but will reconnect the entire ecosystem and protect this global biodiversity hotspot – a moment that marks another wonderful milestone for this goal,” she said.
The crew traveled through wildlife in mid-October in Agoura Hills.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
The Annenberg family’s foundation is the main donor of the $92 million effort Making a bridge – Located 21 feet and 8 inches above the highway – a reality. The initial thought came to mind more than thirty years ago, a 200-foot-long 165-foot-wide bridge was built, which began in 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2026.
“California is becoming increasingly conscious because we are working to protect our nature, biodiversity, and we can’t just restore and protect habitats; we actually have to build connectivity between habitats,” Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, announced.
Workers will start placing soil on Monday morning – sandy loam mixed with light volcanic aggregates – on a wildlife overpass. The process is expected to take several weeks and requires 6,000 cubic yards of soil, enough to cover about three-quarters of the American football field in about 2.5 feet of soil.
Then, coastal sage, buckwheat, wild grapes, wild flowers, milkweed and others Local plants Will be planted on about one acre of habitat. Oak and other trees and plants will be planted on 12 acres of land on either side of wildlife transit.
