Roaring Fork Safe Passages Tours Vail Pass Wildlife Underpass

Roaring Fork Safe Passages joined Kiewit Infrastructure Co. for an on-site tour of a wildlife underpass that is in the final stages of construction on Vail Pass, with the goal of helping wildlife safely cross under the highway. 

The group included the Roaring Fork Safe Passages team, Kiewit project representatives, Pitkin County Commissioners Ted Mahon and Greg Poschman, and local athlete and wildlife crossing advocate Chris Davenport. Kiewit representatives presented an overview of the project’s phased construction approach, engineering, and wildlife-specific design features, followed by a walking tour of the construction site.

The two underpasses, corrugated steel arch structures fabricated by Contech, are being built in two phases so traffic can continue flowing on I-70 throughout construction: one underpass measures roughly 40 feet wide by 12.5 feet tall, the other about 50 feet wide by 15 feet tall. 

Wildlife-vehicle collisions remain a persistent safety and conservation challenge along Colorado’s mountain highways, and the Vail Pass underpasses offer a real-world example for the crossings Roaring Fork Safe Passages is advocating for in the Roaring Fork Valley along Highway 82 and 133. Seeing active construction firsthand gave the group a tangible look at how these projects come together, and the difference they make for both drivers and wildlife.

“Every wildlife crossing built is proof of concept. Vail Pass shows what’s achievable when engineering and conservation come together, and it’s exactly the kind of infrastructure we need in our valley before more lives are lost.” – Cecily DeAngelo, Executive Director, Roaring Fork Safe Passages