New wildlife crossings planned between Canmore and Exshaw on Highway 1A

By Jessica Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Two new wildlife crossings are in the planning stage for Highway 1A between Exshaw and Canmore.

The Alberta government’s new animal-vehicle collision safety program website shows a map of existing and future wildlife crossing and fencing projects, with a newly planned underpass east of Elk Run Boulevard outside Canmore and an overpass adjacent to Gap Lake.

Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) works closely with Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors advocating to keep wildlife and motorists safe navigating roadways. Landscape connectivity specialist Tim Johnson said Y2Y was pleased to hear about new crossings proposed for Highway 1A to enhance wildlife connectivity and safety.

“Long story short, we do keep in touch [with Alberta Transportation], and we were excited to see a lot more projects than we may have expected,” said Johnson.

“We did hear about the wildlife fencing through the Canmore area that was announced earlier this year by the province, but all the additional pieces on the 1A were great, positive news to hear when this new website came out in early June.”

The government website includes a map of animal-vehicle collision mitigation projects across the province, including the two new projects, along with a third wildlife crossing planned between Cochrane and Calgary, and ongoing construction of the Bow Valley Gap wildlife overpass on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Plans for the proposed Highway 1A overpass and underpass, as described on the website, are to retrofit crossings to existing structures and have about 22 kilometres of wildlife exclusion fencing spanning from the Trans-Canada off-ramp where Highway 1A transitions to Bow Valley Trail, and where the 1A meets Highway 1X.

The underpass plans to use existing drainage to retrofit a bridge structure connecting the Fairholme Range in the north to habitat in the Bow Flats Natural Area and around the Bow River in the south. 

“Those are often really effective projects because they’re not quite as expensive. It’s taking advantage of the terrain and using an existing watercourse and basically modifying it to be more amenable to wildlife passage,” said Johnson.

The overpass further east will take advantage of a cliff’s edge next to Highway 1A or as Johnson described it “a sort of natural entryway to a bridge over the road,” toward Gap Lake.

Wildlife common to both sites include deer and elk, especially closer to Canmore, and bighorn sheep.

“The Bow Valley is one of the most developed places in North America, if not the world, where you still have a fairly large suite of medium to large size mammals. So, we all know that’s deer and elk,” said Johnson. “We may not always see the bears, but there’s black bears and grizzly bears that live and move through the Bow Valley, as well as cougars, wolves, moose and bighorn sheep.”

Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors press secretary Jesse Furber said the wildlife crossing projects are a result of the ministry completing a mitigation planning process for Highway 1A in the Bow Valley, near Canmore.

“This process has identified two new wildlife crossing structures including the Gap Lake Wildlife overpass and Grotto Mountain Wildlife underpass. During the design phase, existing bridges will also be assessed and where appropriate, retrofits may be considered to improve wildlife passage,” said Furber. “Wildlife exclusion fencing is a key component of these projects as it will help guide animals to safe crossing opportunities.”

Over the last five years, there have been 62 “large-bodied wildlife” struck and killed in vehicle collisions along the highway between Canmore and Highway 1X. Records include deer, black bear, elk, bighorn sheep and wolves. 

The data is tracked through the province’s Alberta Wildlife Watch Program, which analyzes animal-vehicle collisions along provincial highways. 

“It’s been a really successful way to quantify the issue of wildlife-vehicle collisions and what the effect is, both on wildlife populations and on human safety,” said Johnson. 

Mitigation strategies such as overpasses, underpasses, exclusion fencing, enhancing existing bridges to support wildlife passage and animal detection systems have been shown to reduce collisions with wildlife by up to 80 per cent on provincial highways by helping to facilitate movement and migration patterns of wildlife.

The Bow Valley is considered one of the four most important east-west wildlife connectors in the entire 3,200-kilometre length of the Y2Y region and one of two key connectors for wildlife in Alberta.

“Getting animals safely across these roads is definitely a way to mitigate from the ongoing growth of our human presence on the landscape and ensuring that these populations continue to survive as best they can in what is a very busy Bow Valley. It’s prime habitat for a lot of species and it’s also a place where we as humans like to live and recreate,” said Johnson. 

Ideally, wildlife crossing projects include a mix of underpasses and overpasses, he added, as wildlife sometimes use crossings differently. 

For breeding age grizzlies, especially female bears with cubs, they can be more wary of using underpasses.

“A wider overpass will generally be more conducive to grizzlies with cubs,” said Johnson. “But deer and elk, generally, wolves, cougars – they’re usually going to be fairly comfortable using an underpass.

“A good example of an underpass that functions well for the majority of species is the one at Dead Man’s Flats – the G8 underpass. That’s one we’ve seen most animals using.”

The underpass is west of the under-construction Bow Valley Gap wildlife overpass, east of Canmore on the Trans-Canada Highway.

A 2012 study by Miistakis Institute and Western Transportation Institute identified 10 sites recommended for underpasses and associated fencing along a 39-kilometre stretch from the east gate of Banff National Park on the Trans-Canada.

It also recommended an overpass at Bow Valley Gap, east of Lac Des Arcs, where wildlife-vehicle collisions were shown to be the highest in the study area.

The new overpass began construction in 2022 and was set for completion last summer but has been delayed due to design challenges.

The first-of-its-kind overpass in Alberta, outside of Banff National Park, was anticipated for completion in summer 2024, however, construction is now slated to continue until October. 

“The work has been largely completed with the remaining work relating to concrete, traffic barriers, fencing and landscaping,” states an Alberta 511 notice. 

Despite its delayed completion, it is still functional and being used by wildlife. Johnson noted it’s not uncommon for wildlife to use crossings while they are still under construction.

“There’s some photos of wildlife using the crossing from this past winter shared on the province’s website,” Johnson said. “They had the fencing part of that project done when they wrapped up the construction season last year. So, animals have, in fact, been using the Bow Valley Gap wildlife overpass.

“As much as we, as humans, see it still being under construction, it’s been functional for wildlife, which is great.”

The province said it has begun the process of hiring consultants to design the two new wildlife crossings announced for Highway 1A and expects to have the work contracted out by fall 2024.

“Once the design is complete, we will have a better sense of construction timelines,” said Furber.

The province also announced in February it had hired Dillon Consulting Limited to build 10 km of wildlife exclusion fencing from Banff National Park’s east gate through Canmore, along the Trans-Canada Highway. That project is expected to break ground in 2025.