Southern California drivers are facing a new round of daytime delays this week as work on the world’s most expensive wildlife bridge temporarily shuts down a key freeway ramp.
With the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing moving closer to completion, Calabasas officials said the northbound U.S. 101 on-ramp at Liberty Canyon will be closed Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The city advised motorists to use a posted detour by continuing south on Liberty Canyon Road, heading west on Agoura Road, and then traveling north on Chesebro Road/Palo Comado Canyon Road to reach the northbound 101 on-ramp.
Officials added that Agoura Road will stay open for through traffic, although drivers should be prepared for occasional closures and small delays as construction crews continue their work.
The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is designed to reconnect habitats split apart by busy roads, giving mountain lions and other animals a safer path across one of Southern California’s most heavily traveled freeway corridors.
The ambitious conservation project has been praised as a landmark effort to restore damaged ecosystems, but its price tag has also drawn attention. Initially estimated at $92 million with completion expected by 2025, the crossing is also set to cost taxpayers nearly $77 million.
The push for wildlife crossings in Los Angeles gained major momentum in 2014, when the National Wildlife Federation launched the #SaveLACougars campaign, inspired in part by the celebrity mountain lion P-22.
P-22 became a local legend after making the dangerous journey from the Santa Monica Mountains to Griffith Park in 2012, somehow crossing both the 405 and 101 freeways. The famed Hollywood mountain lion died in 2022, but his story continues to shape conservation efforts across the region.
His death and story helped bring private donations to help with the bridge’s constructions.
The massive 210-feet long and 174-feet wide bridge is made up of 26 million pounds of concrete and supports up to four feet of soil and thousands of native plants.
However, the bridge’s hefty price tag leaves critics confused since other similar wildlife crossings in other states and countries cost a fraction of the $114 million price.
For an estimated tens of millions of dollars less than California’s single bridge, Canada’s Banff National Park built an entire network of six overpasses and 38 underpasses.
The Parleys Canyon wildlife overpass in Utah also only costed a mere $5 million to finish while the Snoqualmie Pass in Washington came in at $6.2 million.
