The Oregon Department of Transportation will receive $33 million in federal funding to construct a wildlife crossing over Interstate 5 in southwest Oregon, state officials said.

The crossing, the first of its kind over the highway, will connect the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, an ecologically diverse protected area of 114,000 acres south of Ashland that’s bisected by I-5. The monument is home to 300 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, including deer, bear, elk and cougars.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the crossing will improve the movement of animals through the landscape and protect drivers from dangerous wildlife collisions and vehicle damage.

The crossing will reconstruct a previously naturally occurring wildlife corridor. It builds on a community-initiated effort to construct a network of wildlife crossings in southern Oregon. Once complete, the new crossing will be among the largest in the nation, public officials said.

The funding, via the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress in 2022, was secured by Oregon’s U.S. senators, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden.

— Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.

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