Previous Chapter « Table of Contents » Next Chapter
Publication No. FHWA-CFL/TD-11-003
March 2011
Central Federal Lands Highway Division
12300
W. Dakota Ave.
Lakewood, CO 80228
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) encourages programs that protect both wildlife and roadway users when the two groups eventually interact. An ever increasing human population demands safe and efficient access to their facilities, but this often comes with the need to mitigate the compromises to the animal habitats. Safety of drivers and preservation of animals are important components that when they successfully mesh we achieve major program goals for improved safety, enhanced livability, and protection of the environment.
This FHWA report called the Wildlife Crossing Structure Handbook offers key background information on defining the overall wildlife-vehicle interaction problem, the needs to be addressed, and offers a multitude of tangible solutions to plan, design, construct, monitor and maintain effective critter crossings. This handbook is for all transportation, environmental, wildlife resource, and stakeholder officials who strive to preserve and reweave safe corridor passages for animals and vehicle travelers.
F. David Zanetell, P.E., Director of Project Delivery
Federal Highway Administration
Central Federal Lands Highway Division
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.
The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.
The FHWA provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.
1. Report No. FHWA-CFL/TD-11-003 |
2. Government Accession No. | 3. Recipient's Catalog No. | ||||
4. Title and Subtitle |
5. Report Date March 2011 |
|||||
6. Performing Organization Code | ||||||
7. Author(s) Anthony P. Clevenger and Marcel P. Huijser |
8. Performing Organization Report No. | |||||
9. Performing Organization Name and Address |
10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) | |||||
11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-03-P-00398 |
||||||
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address |
13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report, August 2003 - February 2011 |
|||||
14. Sponsoring Agency Code HEPM-30 |
||||||
15. Supplementary Notes COTR: Paul Garrett, FHWA-HQ. Advisory Panel Members: Mary Gray and Corrie Veenstra, FHWA- HQ; Brian Allen, FHWA-FLH; and Roger Surdahl, FHWA-CFLHD. This project was funded under the FHWA's Surface Transportation Environment and Planning Cooperative Research Program (STEP). |
||||||
16. Abstract This handbook provides numerous solutions to wildlife-vehicle interactions by offering effective and safe wildlife crossing examples. It initially describes the critter crossing problem and justifies the need to solve it. Project and program level considerations are identified for planning, placement and design of wildlife crossing structures. Key design and ecological criteria, construction and maintenance guidelines, and effective monitoring techniques are shown and described in this handbook's practical application examples called Hot Sheets. |
||||||
17. Key Words ANIMAL MOVEMENT BARRIERS, HABITAT CONNECTIVITY, HABITAT LOSS, ROAD ECOLOGY, WILDLIFE CROSSING, WILDLIFE MORTALITY, WILDLIFE-VEHICLE INTERACTION |
18. Distribution Statement No restriction. This document is available to the public from the sponsoring agency at the website http://www.cflhd.gov. |
|||||
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified |
20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified |
21. No. of Pages 224 |
22. Price |
Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized
APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS | ||
---|---|---|
Symbol | When You Know Multiply By To Find | Symbol |
LENGTH | ||
in | inches 25.4 Millimeters | mm |
ft | feet 0.305 Meters | m |
yd | yards 0.914 Meters | m |
mi | miles 1.61 Kilometers | Km |
AREA | ||
in2 | square inches 645.2 Square millimeters | mm2 |
ft2 | square feet 0.093 Square meters | m2 |
yd2 | square yard 0.836 Square meters | m2 |
ac | acres 0.405 Hectares | ha |
mi2 | square miles 2.59 Square kilometers | km2 |
VOLUME | ||
fl oz | fluid ounces 29.57 Milliliters | mL |
gal | gallons 3.785 Liters | L |
ft3 | cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters | m3 |
yd3 | cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters | m3 |
NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3 | ||
MASS | ||
oz | ounces 28.35 Grams | g |
lb | pounds 0.454 Kilograms | kg |
T | short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or "metric ton") | Mg (or "t") |
TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) | ||
°F | Fahrenheit 5 (F-32)/9 Celsius or (F-32)/1.8 | °C |
ILLUMINATION | ||
fc | foot-candles 10.76 Lux | lx |
fl | foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 | cd/m2 |
FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS | ||
lbf | poundforce 4.45 Newtons | N |
lbf/in2 | poundforce per square inch 6.89 Kilopascals | kPa |
APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS | ||
Symbol | When You Know Multiply By To Find | Symbol |
LENGTH | ||
mm | millimeters 0.039 Inches | in |
m | meters 3.28 Feet | ft |
m | meters 1.09 Yards | yd |
km | kilometers 0.621 Miles | mi |
AREA | ||
mm2 | square millimeters 0.0016 square inches | in2 |
m2 | square meters 10.764 square feet | ft2 |
m2 | square meters 1.195 square yards | yd2 |
ha | Hectares 2.47 Acres | ac |
km2 | square kilometers 0.386 square miles | mi2 |
VOLUME | ||
mL | Milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces | fl oz |
L | liters 0.264 Gallons | gal |
m3 | cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet | ft3 |
m3 | cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards | yd3 |
MASS | ||
g | grams 0.035 Ounces | oz |
kg | kilograms 2.202 Pounds | lb |
Mg (or "t") | megagrams (or "metric ton") 1.103 short tons (2000 lb) | T |
TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) | ||
°C | Celsius 1.8C+32 Fahrenheit | °F |
ILLUMINATION | ||
lx | lux 0.0929 foot-candles | fc |
cd/m2 | candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts | fl |
FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS | ||
N | newtons 0.225 Poundforce | lbf |
kPa | kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch | lbf/in2 |
*SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380 (Revised March 2003)
The author wishes to thank Roger Surdahl of the FHWA-CFLHD for the sponsorship and leadership.
For their help in promoting the survey, the author thanks Tina Barbaccia of Better Roads Magazine, Michele Beck of the Montana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), Lorie Cover of the Idaho Technology Transfer (T2) Center, Mike Fitch of the Ohio Department of Transportation, Anthony Giancola of the National Association of County Engineers, John Kiefer of Michigan LTAP, Terry McNinch of Michigan LTAP, Russell Merle Jr. of the Clark County Department of Air Quality & Environmental Management, David Page of the Florida T2 Center, Carrie Plasters of EnviroTech Services, Dan Ratermann of the Missouri Association of County Transportation Officials, Bob Raths of the Association of Oregon Counties, Richard Rolland of the Tribal Technical Assistance Program, Mike Long, Chairman of the Transportation Research Board's Low-Volume Roads Committee, and others who may have regretfully been missed. The author is also very grateful to everyone who took the time to participate in the survey.
Finally, thanks to the staff at the Western Transportation Institute for their administrative support.