As autumn settles over the Granite State, one of New Hampshire Audubon’s most exciting conservation projects is gaining momentum: the construction of an under-road wildlife crossing on US Route 2 in Randolph, a town in Coos County.
For over 20 years, NH Audubon staff, conservationists, local communities, and state partners have been working to identify the best location and design for this crossing. Now, we are entering a critical phase of the planning and design of Farrar Crossing at Bowman Divide. With early estimates putting construction costs at approximately $5M, we aim to break ground by 2026.
This crossing is crucial for the safety of both wildlife and drivers. Up to 10,000 vehicles travel on US Route 2 each day, including hikers parking at the Valley Way Trailhead to begin their trek across the Presidential Range. The road cuts through prime wildlife habitat which, unfortunately, results in frequent collisions with the wildlife that call this area home—Moose, White-tailed Deer, Black Bear, Eastern Coyote, Beaver, American Marten, Fisher, and even Canada Lynx.
The planned crossing will connect conserved public land on both sides of the road, creating a corridor that links the White Mountains to the south with the Randolph Community Forest and the Kilkenny Unit of the White Mountain National Forest to the north. This connectivity is essential for wildlife as they adapt to changing climates, allowing them to move freely between protected areas.
Once the crossing is constructed, we’ll work with our partners—including the NH Department of Transportation, NH Fish and Game and UNH—to ensure it’s as effective as possible through ongoing management, monitoring, and research. Our goal is to enhance our understanding of wildlife movement and to create a model for wildlife-friendly road designs to inspire similar efforts in the region.
With your support, NH Audubon will create a safer and more connected landscape and continue our 110-year legacy of preserving natural habitats to ensure wildlife will thrive alongside us.
A group of transportation and conservation partners have joined together to improve motorist safety and wildlife passage along a unique stretch of US Route 2 in Randolph, NH. This stretch of US Route 2, known as Bowman Divide, is situated between the White Mountains to the south and the Randolph Community Forest and Kilkenny Unit of the White Mountain National Forest to the north. US Route 2 and associated development divides these two protected habitat areas, which are the largest and third largest conserved areas of habitat in New Hampshire, respectively. This ±1.8-mile stretch of US Route 2 in Randolph is the only location where a single public road divides the southern protected lands from the northern.
Studies completed over the last 20 years have identified the Bowman Divide area as a priority for wildlife passage because of concentrated wildlife use and high incidents of Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions (WVC). New Hampshire Audubon published one of these studies in 2007 and is leading the project in close partnership with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT). NHDOT owns and maintains US Route 2 and supports efforts to understand alternatives that benefit both the traveling public and wildlife.
Supported by private funding, NH Audubon hired McFarland Johnson, Inc., a civil engineering firm qualified to design a project focused on safety and wildlife connectivity. McFarland Johnson will evaluate different culvert and/or bridge structure sizes to allow wildlife to pass under the road at two different sites along US Route 2. Non-structural alternatives will also be evaluated, such as an alert system that notifies motorists when an animal is crossing the road. Additional design and engineering will commence once a preferred approach is agreed upon by project partners and stakeholders, including the Town of Randolph who owns abutting property to the crossing site locations under consideration. The development of alternatives and selection of a preferred alternative will be complete by the spring of 2024.
“We are very excited to follow up our wildlife connectivity assessment along Route 2 in Randolph with actions that will help reduce roadkill and allow wildlife to cross the highway safely” said Doug Bechtel, President at New Hampshire Audubon. “The partnerships and local support for this work is testament to shared goals and community support. We couldn’t be more pleased to be supporting this project.”
“This project is a great example of a public-private partnership initiated to protect New Hampshire’s drivers and wildlife,” said Philip Beaulieu, District 1 Engineer at the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, “and will hopefully provide a road map for future wildlife crossings in the North Country.”
Additional partners participating in and supporting the project include the Town of Randolph Conservation Commission, the Town of Randolph Forest Commission, The Conservation Fund, US Forest Service, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, Northeast Wilderness Trust, and Northeast Conservation Services, LLC.
Understanding Wildlife Corridors (NH Fish and Game)
Cars are a major predator for wildlife. How is nature adapting to our roads? (NPR Fresh Air, September 26, 2023)
