California Department of Transportation & Partnerships Pave the Way: Laurel Curve Wildlife Crossing on Highway 17

Highway 17 is high-volume traffic route between the San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Cruz Mountains. Serving as a regionally important transportation corridor, the project also sits within a critical wildlife area for mountain lion, deer, and other animals. Via a unique partnership and community-based endeavor, two transportation agencies – one of them Caltrans – and a land trust teamed up on a $12.5 million highway project that enhanced travel connectivity while also allowing for unobstructed migration between wildlife habitat areas on either side of the road. The Laurel Curve Wildlife Crossing project serves as a tangible example of how successful collaborative planning can provide a safe mode of passage for wildlife under the highway, while enhancing driver safety through decreased risk of wildlife-vehicle collisions.