Animals are using it, and in big numbers.

The Washington State Department of Transportation says its I-90 Snoqualmie Pass wildlife overcrossing has now reached 10,000 recorded crossings since it opened.

“Want a success story? In July, we recorded the 10,000th successful crossing on our I-90 Snoqualmie Pass wildlife overcrossing,” WSDOT shared in a social media post. “Between that overcrossing and our 11 undercrossings on Snoqualmie Pass, we’ve seen nearly 40,000 crossings since 2014.”

WSDOT said trail cameras recorded animals using the corridor to cross the interstate safely.

The agency also said wildlife deaths on that stretch of highway have dropped sharply.

“Between 2019-2023, we removed 39,258 carcasses from state highways,” WSDOT added on social media. “In the stretch of I-90 Snoqualmie Pass where the overcrossing and undercrossings exist… that number has shrunk to nearly zero.”

According to Pew Charitable Trusts, wildlife crossings can cut large mammal collisions by up to 97 percent, and each prevented wildlife-vehicle collision can save up to $110,000 in costs. States that have built wildlife overpasses have also seen crashes fall by 90 percent.

Conservation Northwest, which pushed for the Snoqualmie Pass crossing and helped implement it, said the structure has improved wildlife movement across a key corridor.

“This structure has helped restore the ecological integrity of the North and South Cascades by reducing wildlife vehicle collisions, reconnecting habitat, and allowing herds and solitary travelers alike to move safely through one of Washington’s most important wildlife corridors,” the group shared on social media earlier this month.

On its website, Conservation Northwest said, “These crossings now serve as a national model for how transportation and conservation goals can align to restore ecological function across major highways.”

The group is now working to expand wildlife corridors across the interstate to connect habitats spanning the Cascade Mountains and Olympic Peninsula.

WSDOT said the crossings were built to help animals move across their habitat and to reduce the cost of crashes.

“There’s a few reasons we built these structures. For one, it allows wildlife to safely access their full range of habitat. Isolated wildlife populations lead to weaker genetics over time,” WSDOT explained in its social media post. “Wildlife crossings also carry an economic benefit. On average, a deer collision carries an economic cost of around $15,000. For elk, that figure jumps to $54,000. Fewer collisions can save the state hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.”

WSDOT said more construction is planned at Snoqualmie Pass East.

“Between now and 2031, we have plans to build an additional 15 undercrossings and one more overcrossing along Snoqualmie Pass East,” WSDOT announced. “Our mission is keeping travelers connected to wherever they need to go, no matter if it’s by wheel, foot, paw, or hoof.”

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