Concrete girders now span across the US-101 freeway in Agoura Hills, as construction of the $92-million Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing hits a key milestone.

The new bridge in Liberty Canyon is being built to preserve California's famed mountain lions, as well as other wildlife, which are isolated by the freeway network that crisscrosses the region. Officials have used the late P-22, who crossed by the 405 and 101 freeways to take up residences in Griffith Park ,as a mascot for the project.

Aerial view of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife CrossingRock Design Associates

More than 80 girders will be used to support the crossing, each weighing between 126 and 140 tons. Placement of the girders has required nightly closures of the surrounding stretch of freeway.

The bridge will be 210 feet in length and 174 feet in width, per a landing page on the Caltrans website.

The Architects Newspaper reports that Chicago-based Rock Design Associates is designing the project, which is billed as the largest wildlife crossing in the world. It will be coupled with roughly 12 acres of ecological reconstruction in the surrounding area, with native vegetation planted to help the bridge blend in to the environment.

Officials celebrate girder placement for wildlife crossingGary Leonard

According to a project page on the Caltrans website, completion of the crossing is expected in late 2025 or early 2026.

Fundraising for the 101 crossing began in 2016, culminating in a groundbreaking for the bridge in 2022. Additional wildlife crossings could come to fruition in the near future in other corners of Southern California, with study underway for bridges above the I-5 and SR-14 freeways.

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