Washington State To Break Ground on Wildlife Bridge Over Major Highway

"Bears, cougars, elk and even lizards will be getting a bridge of their own in Washington state so some of the region's largest and most endangered wildlife can safely cross a major highway.

The Washington State Department of Transportation will break ground on Tuesday on the crossing, which will span Interstate 90, a major thoroughfare that links the Seattle area with eastern Washington as it meanders across the United States, agency officials said.

The 150-foot-long (45-metre) wildlife bridge about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Seattle near the Snoqualmie Pass will be the largest of its kind in the state, helping to cut down on collisions between vehicles and animals along a "critical connective link" in the north-south movement of wildlife living in the Cascade Range, according to the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition."

Victoria Cavaliere reports for Reuters June 8, 2015.