OSBURN, Idaho — Driving through the Silver Valley on I-90, you probably wouldn't notice anything strange about the overpass in Osburn, Idaho. But more than 50 years after it was first built, the bridge has never been completed and no car has legally used it.
Now, the bridge is getting a new purpose, as it prepares to welcome animal traffic.
The Silver Valley is home to an abundant, wide array, of wildlife. It also has one of the busiest freeways in the entire region running right through it. And those two things don't always get along.
"We have big game. So, deer, elk, moose, bears, mountain lions," explains Laura Wolf, a regional wildlife biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
The stretch of road from the east side of Coeur d'Alene to the Montana border has the second-highest density of roadkill anywhere along Interstate 90, which stretches from Seattle to Boston.
"Typically, animals will cross along the road and often will get hit by vehicles," Wolf said. "In the two-mile stretch on either side of this overpass, there were about 75 Animals hit in the last 10 years."
The wildlife crossing recently received funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The entire project is expected to cost about $400,000 to $500,000. That makes this crossing much cheaper than others in the region. For example, the crossing over I 90 on Snoqualmie Pass cost about $6.2 million.
The bridge is in Kirsten Voorhees' backyard. The civil engineer specializes in animal corridors. She's been working to turn the overpass into a wildlife crossing. However, she wasn't the first person with the idea.
That would be Carl Wilson, an avid outdoorsman, and a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
"A local guy, one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet, who really had a dream and a vision, and he bugged people for a good decade," Voorhees said while talking about Carl.
To Carl, it seemed simple, take this bridge that sat unused for more than five decades and put it to good use. A seemingly easy solution to a dangerous problem.
"He said, I need you to promise me that you're going to finish this thing if I don't make it," Voorhees said.
Carl passed about a year ago, but his dream lives on. A dream that may lead to future crossings for the Silver Valley, helping to make the interstate a little safer forever.
"So we carry it through and we'll continue to carry it through no matter what it takes," Voorhees said.
Click here to learn more about the project.
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