After 14 hours of deliberation late Thursday night, the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure voted to reauthorize the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program with a significant funding boost, recognizing a solution that cuts both ways—saving animal lives and reducing vehicle collisions on America's roads.
The Wildlife Crossings Program, created in 2021 as part of the last Surface Transportation bill, addresses one of the hidden costs of America's century-old highway system. Since the 1926 transportation act signed by President Coolidge and the 1956 interstate-creating bill signed by President Eisenhower, our road networks have enabled unprecedented mobility and economic transformation. But that same infrastructure has fractured wildlife habitat across the country, with devastating consequences: researchers estimate about 1 million vertebrate animals are killed on American roadways every single day—roughly 11 per second. Each year, between 1 and 2 million large animals, including deer, elk, and bears, perish in vehicle collisions.
The solution lies in infrastructure designed for wildlife: bridges, underpasses, and culverts that allow animals to safely cross roads. Studies have proven that these crossings can reduce vehicle collisions by up to 97 percent—a win that benefits both wildlife and drivers. The House Committee's new BUILD America 250 Act deepens this commitment by increasing annual funding from $75 million to $80 million over five years. More significantly, the bill removes the word "pilot" from the program's name, placing it on a more permanent footing in future transportation legislation.
The new funding structure also reflects lessons learned from the program's early years. The bill directs 75 percent of project funding specifically toward rural areas, where wildlife populations are more concentrated and vehicle collisions are frequent. It limits non-construction planning costs to just 5 percent of total funding, ensuring resources flow toward building the crossings themselves. Importantly for tribal nations seeking to participate, the bill waives the 20 percent co-financing requirement that previously created barriers to entry.
Bipartisan leadership proved crucial to this reauthorization. Representatives Beyer (D-VA), Zinke (R-MT), Hurd (R-CO), Huffman (D-CA), Min (D-CA), Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Quigley (D-IL), and Titus (D-NV) championed the program's expansion, with support from Environment America and its 30 state organizations.
Yet the journey toward full implementation continues. The bill now moves to the Senate, where advocates hope for even greater ambition—an increase to $100 million annually. The path forward involves another round of deliberation and negotiation, but the House Committee's decisive vote signals that reconnecting fragmented wildlife habitat while improving road safety is no longer an experiment. It is an infrastructure priority for America's future.