The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced grants worth $125m for 16 wildlife crossing projects in 16 states.

The funding has been awarded from the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, a new grant program in its second round of awards, created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The program aims to improve safety for motorists and wildlife by reducing vehicle collisions with wildlife while also improving habitat connectivity and supporting the survival of threatened or endangered species.

According to the Federal Highway Administration (FSWH) each year, more than one million wildlife vehicle collisions are estimated to impact motorists and wildlife in the US.

“Too many Americans are injured or killed each year in crashes involving cars and wildlife, especially in rural areas—which is why our Department created the first-ever program dedicated to crossings that make roads and highways safer for both humans and wildlife,” said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Project selections in this round of grant awards include just over $33m to the Oregon Department of Transportation to build a wildlife crossing along Interstate 5 within southwest Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The project includes construction of a wildlife overpass bridge and fencing to direct wildlife to the structure within the Mariposa Preserve. Species impacted in this area include deer, bears, elk, cougars, and other large-bodied animals attempting to cross the highway.

There will also be $25m awarded to North Carolina Department of Transportation to install multiple wildlife underpass structures and fencing along US-64 within the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Dare County. The project will reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, support the Red Wolf Recovery Program, and increase habitat connectivity for wildlife within the refuge, including the endangered red wolf, black bear, and white-tailed deer.

In its first round of grant awards, the Federal Highway Administration awarded $110 million for 19 wildlife crossing projects in 17 states.