Douglas County expands I-25 wildlife crossings to reduce collisions
Douglas County’s I-25 wildlife overpass was completed in January 2026, spanning six lanes and reconnecting nearly 39,000 acres near the Greenland Interchange.
Douglas County’s wildlife overpass near the Greenland Interchange was completed in January 2026, a move meant to cut wildlife-vehicle crashes on Interstate 25 between Larkspur and Castle Rock. The crossing covers six lanes of traffic and measures 200 feet wide and 209 feet long.
Colorado Department of Transportation now lists the I-25 Greenland Wildlife Overpass as project complete. The agency built the structure with the Federal Highway Administration, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Douglas County and other partners, placing it near the Greenland Interchange to address a corridor where animals and traffic have long shared the same space.
Douglas County’s own project page identifies the I-25 Wildlife Crossing Network as a county project, and county archives say recent and historical vehicle-animal collisions along the corridor, along with growing public concern, led to a multi-agency plan. That approach treats the problem as a transportation-safety issue as much as a wildlife issue, with the goal of steering animals away from high-speed lanes and into a safer crossing.
The overpass also reconnects nearly 39,000 acres of protected habitat, according to a Colorado governor’s office post. That connection matters in Douglas County, where open space, foothills habitat and rural land still support deer, elk, bears and other wildlife even as neighborhoods and traffic continue to grow along one of the county’s busiest commuting and freight routes.
By late 2025, the Greenland structure was already being described as the largest wildlife overpass in North America and ready for use by elk and other animals. The county’s crossing network now has a visible centerpiece along I-25, where the pressure between road safety, development and wildlife movement is unlikely to ease anytime soon.
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