In the 2026 General Session, the Utah State Legislature passed House Bill 431, a bill that allocates $2 million annually to support wildlife crossing projects.
Matt Howard, natural resource manager for the Utah Department of Transportation, said the funding will help move projects forward — but won’t cover everything.
“I consider it a piece of the solution," he said. "We still will need to seek out things like federal grants for the big overpasses, or the big, wide underpasses.”
Those larger structures come with a hefty price tag. An overpass can cost between $15 and $20 million, making underpasses a more attainable option in many cases.
“The majority of our crossings in Utah are underpasses,” Howard explained. “We have somewhere around 100 of those statewide. The reason why I say 'somewhere around' is because sometimes we can retrofit existing culverts that just happen to be big enough for wildlife to cross through.”
Howard explained these crossings aren’t just designed for large, wide-ranging animals—smaller species are also part of the plan.
“Some small culverts may pass beavers, otters, rodents," he said. "We have some crossings designated specifically for tortoises in the southern part of the state.”
Howard said that even when crossings are designed with a specific species in mind, they often benefit many others.
“Mule deer are a great umbrella species," he said. "So, when we design structures for them, we end up capturing, I would say, the majority of our mammal species. So when we build a wildlife crossing, … pretty instantly we started seeing tons of mule deer. That's our number one user. But we also see black bears and we've seen porcupines on it. We see mountain lions and bobcats, small rodents, all kinds of things like that.”
While wildlife crossings come in many forms, Howard said their importance is hard to overstate.
“I am always struck by when we look at our collar data, our roads are almost a complete barrier to the point where most animals won't even attempt to cross them," he said.
These projects create a win-win for both wildlife and people — helping animals of all sizes cross safely, while reducing the risk of vehicle collisions.
Howard said the Utah Department of Transportation is working on a project to share camera trap images from crossings statewide.
In the meantime, highlights from these projects are available on the department’s website and Instagram page, Utahtransportation.