Animal crossings in Poland. There are already over 5,000 of them – says GDDKiA

Of the crossings for large and medium-sized animals, 1,202 are the so-called lower structures, and 226 – upper ones. “The latter are large engineering structures above highways or expressways, appropriately arranged to allow animals to cross to the other side of the expressway,” said the press release from the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways.

As he emphasizes GDDKiA“only on the road sections opened to traffic last year, it was built 210 culverts for amphibians and passages for small animals, as well as 76 lower passages and 20 upper areas for medium and large animals.

According to the information provided, each section of a newly constructed motorway or expressway is being built on the basis of a previously obtained environmental decision, which specifies the location and type of environmental protection infrastructure, including animal crossings, as well as corrective and compensatory actions.

“Issues related to the terrain and the course of the road have a significant impact on the choice of the lower passage (under the road) or the upper passage (above the road). However, the animal species observed in a given place and the course of migration routes indicate which animals it is intended to serve – large, medium or small. Animals often migrate along rivers, so bridges over them are deliberately extended to enable animal migration along watercourses,” it was reported. On sections running through forest areas or fields on plains and in animal migration corridors, upper passages are built, which – as noted – increases the construction cost compared to the route without such facilities. “It can be assumed that the average cost of implementing all environmental protection devices (animal crossings, road and herpetological fences, drainage system and anti-noise screens) is approximately 11% of the total costs of construction of expressways. However, the cost of animal crossings alone constitutes over 6.5 percent. The analysis of available data shows that the average cost of the upper crossing for animals is approximately PLN 11 million,” GDDKiA reported.

As noted by the Management, some animal crossings are huge and advanced engineering structures. The announcement included as an example the crossing over the section of the S5 expressway north of Bydgoszcz, completed two years ago. “A 120 m long and 50 m wide upper crossing for animals was built near Borów. It passes over two main road roads, two distribution roads and two two-way local roads. In turn, on the S19 road, between Janów Lubelski and Nisko, an upper crossing in the area “Zdiar in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship was built over two expressway roads, narrow technical roads and a provincial road. It is nearly 117 m long and 55 m wide,” explained GDDKiA. The animal crossing area is covered with grass and legumes, and is planted with trees and shrubs in the form of clumps. Stumps and boulders are also placed to attract animals to the crossing area and provide them with cover, and at the same time constitute a barrier for vehicles and limit the use of these crossings by people.

Special solutions are also designed to protect bats. Special gantries were installed over two sections of expressways – S3 between Szczecin and Gorzów and S8 between Wieluń and Złoczew (Łódź Voivodeship). “Previously, a similar solution had been tested only in England, but there the gantry was built over a regular road, not over a multi-lane, dual carriageway,” emphasized GDDKiA. The gates are located in places where bat migration routes intersect with expressways. These are Y-shaped structures. Special protective nets with meshes no larger than 5×5 cm are stretched between their arms. The purpose of the gantries is to encourage bats to increase their flight altitude so that they can fly over the road unscathed. GDDKiA emphasized that the effectiveness of animal protection solutions is constantly verified, and monitoring information indicates that most crossings (both upper and lower) are intensively used. “This can be seen in the photos and videos we post on social media. For example, a camera trap placed at the crossing over the S61 expressway recorded the passage of a lynx. This secretive and rare animal is difficult to observe, much less register with a camera,” it was noted.

In exceptional situations, e.g. during the spread of African swine fever (ASF), animal crossings can also selectively limit the migration of wild boars so that they cannot transmit the virus that is dangerous to pigs. “A few years ago, GDDKiA, in accordance with the regulations of voivodes, installed special fences at crossings on some road routes. The fences were designed to keep mainly wild boars away, but did not limit the migration of other animals,” the release said. GDDKiA informed that wild animals or stray dogs may sometimes appear near junctions on expressways, because the entrances to expressways cannot be fenced. The management appeals to notify the services of such cases by telephone via the number. tel. 19 111 GDDKiA Road Information.