Overview
- Project managers say major bridge, planting and an Agoura Road overpass are finished and crews are completing large-scale soil grading and compaction to make a seamless route for animals.
- That final soil work uses layered compaction on clay- and silt-rich fills, a process that must be done dry and can be halted by heavy El Niño storms.
- Scientists have started biological monitoring by fitting deer with biologging tags that record heart rate, GPS and body temperature, and teams plan to collar mountain lions next to measure physiological responses.
- Trail cameras already captured coyotes, deer and a female mountain lion with cubs near the structure, suggesting animals are approaching the crossing during construction.
- The project’s cost has risen to about $114 million with roughly $77 million reported from taxpayers, drawing political criticism even as managers argue the crossing is needed to reverse severe inbreeding that models say could drive local mountain lions to extinction within decades.