Wildlife Crossing Project Will Close Stretch of Northern California Highway for 2 Weeks

A corrugated steel pipe that will become one of two wildlife crossings beneath Highway 395 as part of the Sonora Junction Shoulders Project. (Caltrans)

A wildlife crossing project in Sonora Junction—nearly two hours north of Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada mountains—will close U.S. Highway 395 for 15 days, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced this week.

The closure, part of the Sonora Junction Shoulders Project, will begin Sept. 4 between Bridgeport and State Route 108, officials said in an Aug. 5 statement.

Construction began in May.

The project will widen the shoulders of the highway to 8 feet. Caltrans has also been working to add retaining walls and slopes with anchored mesh to the wildlife crossing area.

Caltrans said the stretch of Highway 395 is a “crossing hotspot” for herds of mule deer. Officials also said there have been 69 reports of wildlife collisions there since 2002.

Two crossing installations will go under the freeway, officials said, with “plate pipe” archway under-crossings that are over 70 feet long and more than 9 feet high. The tunnels will allow wildlife to cross without being exposed to traffic.

Officials hope the crossing points, as well as the addition of strategically placed fencing, will drastically reduce wildlife mortality rates in the region.

According to Caltrans, only local traffic between Bridgeport and Birchman Flat Road will have access to Highway 395 during the closure, and other drivers traveling north to reach Holbrook Junction will be able to access the highway through the nearby communities of Walker, Coleville, and Topaz.

All other northbound drivers have been advised to take detours through State Route 182 through Bridgeport and Nevada State Route 338.

Officials said southbound traffic coming from Nevada can use Southbound Route 208 at Holbrook Junction and take the southbound Nevada State Route 338.

The Sonora Junction project comes as another crossing is being built in Southern California on Highway 101 near Agoura Hills, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing goes over the freeway instead of under it.

The project is meant to help protect Southern California cougars, rabbits, bobcats, coyotes, and mule deer.