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Project Overview
Planning and development are underway to create a series of wildlife crossings on U.S. 64 in Dare County to help keep drivers safe and prevent crashes with wild animals, including black bears, white‑tailed deer and the world’s only population of
Red Wolves*.
Proposed work includes developing design options for various sizes of wildlife, with corresponding fencing, over a 2.5-mile stretch of U.S. 64 from east of the East Lake community to west of Robertson Landing Road.
Wildlife crossings will be constructed beneath U.S. 64 to help separate vehicles from animals and allow mammals, amphibians and other wildlife to safely cross under the highway. This will keep the animals safer and reduce the number of collisions, injuries, vehicle damage and travel disruptions. U.S. 64 in Dare County serves as a major travel corridor and hurricane evacuation route.
Planning and design will also consider construction access, maintaining traffic flow on this critical route, and minimizing impacts to nearby canals and swamps, private property, utilities, wetlands, historic sites and community resources.
*The capitalization of Red Wolves is an acknowledgement of the cultural importance of the species to several Native American Tribes and their belief that Red Wolves are our equal.
Our Partners
The U.S. 64 Wildlife Crossing is a collaborative effort involving the N.C. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (the Red Wolf Recovery Program and the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge) and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
NCDOT also works alongside a broad coalition of stakeholders and funding partners whose donor campaigns, support and expertise have been instrumental in advancing wildlife crossing solutions for this corridor.
Project Funding
This project is listed as Project HO-0027 in the
N.C. Department of Transportation's State Transportation Improvement Program and is estimated to cost $31.25 million. The project received $25 million from the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, plus $6.25 million in matching funds from NCDOT General Funds and other public and private partners. This includes almost $4 million raised by the Center for Biological Diversity and Wildlands Network from more than 5,800 individual donors.
Construction
| $30,800,000
|
Post construction
| $450,000
|
|
Total cost |
$31,250,000 |
*Estimated costs subject to change