Work on California’s popular Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing spanning over ten lanes of the 101 Freeway began four years ago. Today, the bridge has exceeded not only the timeline but also the budget by a big margin, already crossing $100 million in expenses. And they plan to have more of these.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom committed $54 million to the world’s largest wildlife crossing bridge that would set an example for wildlife conservation. He confirmed that another $10 million would be needed to conclude the project.
But officials stated that the entire project would cost a lot more than what Newsom claimed – a whopping $92 million, a part of which was being paid by private philanthropists, as reported by the New York Post. The estimated date of completion was in 2025.
However, if one looks at the progress today, the WAWC has not been completed. The budget? That has shot up by another $21 million. But why? WAWC leader Beth Pratt said everything was being done to ensure every animal, “from monarch butterflies to mountain lions,” would be able to use it.
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That means experts from different departments were being hired and put to work to ensure the bridge was wild-animal friendly in every way. Notably, Pratt is also the director of the National Wildlife Federation, a body that received $25 million from the Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation as a contribution toward the bridge.
However, funds were scarce, and according to Pratt, the expense may go $21 million above the original estimate, allegedly due to President Trump’s tariff policies, labor issues, and inflation. She insists the overage is “not that bad” considering the “times we’re living in.”
Due to a shortage of funds, the California Transportation Commission gave an additional $18.8 million for the project. Now the total cost of the wildlife bridge tallies to $114 million, $77 million of which is from state funds. The reason for the overshoot is the jobs being created as a result of the project.
Experts also add to the expense of a mega project since it involves an intermingling of many areas of interest, such as soil science, botany, and animal expertise. Pratt said a fungi whiz worked as a habitat designer, while a soil scientist was on the job to assess local dirt and tailor it in a way that it becomes a version that is closest to the original sample found in nature.
Claims from those involved in the project suggest the WAWC would play a big role in protecting the mountain lion population, currently facing extinction. However, could the $114 million have been spent instead on translocations to save them?
When Newsom broke ground back in 2022, he stated that WAWC was a stepping stone to many such wildlife crossings across California, claiming that $105M would be needed to create several bridges. But with the current WAWC still unfinished with a heavily overshot budget, the question is whether such bridges are needed and if they can be afforded.
