Agencies and organizations in Santa Clara County will soon be embarking on a project to build wildlife crossings at several transit junctures, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority announced.

The multi-year project will create wildlife crossing structures traversing U.S. Highway 101, Monterey Road and rail lines in the southern part of the county, the VTA said. The work was approved at Thursday’s VTA board meeting.

“Investing in wildlife crossings helps reduce collisions and ensures our roadways better coexist with the region’s natural habitats for the long-term health and safety for all,” said VTA general manager Carolyn Gonot in a statement released by the agency.

A rendering shows the Fisher Creek and Monterey Road intersection animal crossing. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority board approved a contract on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, for HDR Engineering to begin initial stages of design and planning for the Highway 101/Monterey Road Wildlife Crossings Project. (VTA via Bay City News)

The VTA board looked at statistics gathered in 2021 by University of California, Davis that showed that the 1-mile stretch of Highway 101 that crosses Coyote Creek is in the top 5% of annual wildlife vs. vehicle collision costs per mile in the state. Building crossings for animals would reduce risks to people and wildlife significantly, the VTA said.

The county has seen an escalation in animal versus car collisions on both Monterey Road and Highway 101 between San Jose and Gilroy, the VTA said.

Funding for the project will come from the Peninsula Open Space Trust, which has identified the Fisher Creek and Monterey Road intersection as the first place to build a crossing in 2028. The VTA will be responsible for managing and delivering the built crossings, the agency said, as well as coordinating between project heads and agencies like Caltrans, Union Pacific Railroad, and others.

“Investing in wildlife crossings helps reduce collisions and ensures our roadways better coexist with the region’s natural habitats for the long-term health and safety for all.”
Carolyn Gonot, VTA general manager

The trust has worked with the city of San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority to purchase land in Coyote Valley to protect the wildlife there, the VTA said. The area is an active corridor for mountain lions, bobcats and American badgers moving between coastal and inland mountain ranges in search of food, shelter and mates, according to the trust.

Other impacted animals include the California ground squirrel, the black-tailed deer, the northwestern pond turtle, the California tiger salamander, and the California red-legged frog. The land purchase also connects over a million acres of protected lands and is part of the state’s 30×30 Initiative, which aims to conserve 30% of California’s wild coastal and inland beauty by 2030.

The exact number and scope of wildlife crossing structures will depend on funding, the VTA said.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.