JACKSON, Wyo. — On Tuesday, June 4, the Teton County Board of County Commissioners approved additional funding in the amount of $294,190 for Teton County Wildlife Crossing Preliminary Designs.
The funding will help complete geotechnical work, including test pits and groundwater monitoring, for four wildlife crossing structures being considered in the Camp Creek
project area and three crossing structures on north US89.
According to Teton County, geotechnical investigations will allow the designs to move beyond the 30% design benchmark so engineers can complete construction level drawings. These designs will also provide essential information for future funding opportunities.
The Teton County Wildlife Crossings Master Plan states that over 300 large animals are hit and killed annually on roads within Teton County (not including collisions occurring within Grand Teton National Park). The actual number is estimated to be two to four times higher, since many wildlife-vehicle collisions go unreported.
To address concerns related to wildlife-vehicle collisions, Teton County staff determined that certain locations are considered highest priority for wildlife crossing structures. The proposed locations determined in the master plan are US26/89/191 in the Camp Creek area, north US89/191 between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fish Hatchery and the town of Jackson and WY22 on the west side of Teton Pass.
Teton County Wildlife Crossing Preliminary Designs will be funded with 2019 SPET funds.
