Western Transportation Institute

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/35

The Western Transportation Institute is the country's largest National University Transportation Center focused on rural transportation issues. Because we live and work in rural communities, we understand the critical roles rural transportation plays in the lives of people, in the environment and in the economy. We draw from our eight integrated research groups to create solutions that work for our clients, sponsors and rural transportation research partners. WTI focuses on rural issues, but some of our program areas also address the concerns of the urban environment. Whatever the objective, we bring innovation and expertise to each WTI transportation research project. WTI's main facility with its state-of-the-art labs is adjacent to the Montana State University campus in Bozeman, Montana. We have additional offices in Alberta, Canada, and central Washington, and a large testing facility in rural Montana near Lewistown. Contact us to find out how to address your rural transportation research needs.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Animal-vehicle collisions

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    Animal Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat Connectivity Cost Effective Solutions - Final Report
    (Nevada Department of Transportation, 2022-07) Ament, Rob; Huijser, Marcel; May, Dana
    Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) are a significant component of overall crashes in the US and Canada. Roads and their traffic also create partial or total barriers to the movement of wildlife, both large and small. There are several well-studied proven mitigation measures that significantly reduce WVCs, provide for safe animal passage across roads, and maintain habitat connectivity. Highly effective measures, such as overpasses and underpasses with fencing can reduce large animal WVCs by over 80% – 100% on average; yet these structures can be costly and there is room for improvement in their design, the use of new materials, adding elements that improve their use by smaller animal species, such as reptiles and amphibians and improving their cost effectiveness. This Transportation Pooled Fund Study, TPF-5(358) (TPF Study), allowed researchers to evaluate the latest information on the effectiveness of 24 different highway mitigation measures designed to decrease collisions with large wildlife, large feral and domestic animals. Also reviewed were these same measures’ ability to protect small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians from collisions. The TPF Study also explored the effectiveness of the 24 measures ability to maintain or enhance habitat connectivity. It conducted 11 different research projects that variously explored a) the costs and benefits of animal-vehicle collisions and the mitigation measures that seek to reduce them, b) the ecological effectiveness of various mitigation measures, and 3) new designs for crossing structures for a variety of species. The project developed a manual of best practices and concluded with a final report.
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