Crosswalks for Creatures

June 28, 2026: Here’s an easy way to have a bad day: Hit a half-ton elk with your car while driving the posted speed limit of 75 mph on I-17 about 12 miles south of Flagstaff, AZ.

Almost 40 drivers have such a bad day along that stretch of highway every year.

But the chances of that happening will be much lower this fall after the Willard Springs Wildlife Overpass opens.

Animals will navigate to the 100-foot-wide wildlife crossing with the help of 8 miles of new fencing, native vegetation plantings, escape ramps, and adjoining structures, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). (Click here for an amusing video of an ADOT official explaining to animals how they will use the wildlife crossing.)

The Arizona Game & Fish Department chose the location of the Willard Springs overpass based on the movements recorded from radio-collared elk, according to Arizona Public Radio.

Arizona averages approximately 1,200 to 1,700 reported wildlife-vehicle collisions annually, with the most devastating typically involving elk and deer.

The new wildlife crossing joins a series of projects that have reduced wildlife collisions by 90% in recent years.

Arizona’s wildlife crossing projects completed in recent years:

Year Completed	Installation of Wildlife Crossing Structure
2000-2006	11 crossing structures and 6 bridges that function as crossing structures installed along State Route 260
2007	Roadside animal detection system on State Route 260
2013	2 wildlife underpasses along State Route 260
2011	3 overpass structures along US 93 just south of Hoover Dam and the Nevada state line
2016	2 crossing structures (1 overpass and 1 underpass) north of Tucson on State Route 77
2018	6 crossing structures (1 overpass, 5 underpasses) along the Boulder City Bypass portion of I-11

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