and Mitigation I-64 Charlottesville-Waynesboro Bridget Donaldson - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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and Mitigation I-64 Charlottesville-Waynesboro Bridget Donaldson - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Sep 02, 2022 270 likes •711 views

Animal-Vehicle Collision Research and Mitigation I-64 Charlottesville-Waynesboro Bridget Donaldson Senior Research Scientist Virginia Transportation Research Council States with Most Deer-Vehicle Collisions (July 2014 - June 2015)*

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Animal-Vehicle Collision Research and Mitigation

I-64 Charlottesville-Waynesboro

Bridget Donaldson Senior Research Scientist

Virginia Transportation Research Council

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  • 20,000.00

40,000.00 60,000.00 80,000.00 100,000.00 120,000.00 140,000.00

1.25 million DVCs in the U.S. VDOT spends ~ $4.1 million/year on carcass management

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*State Farm Insurance projections for the entire insurance industry. Includes deer, elk, and moose

States with Most Deer-Vehicle Collisions

(July 2014 - June 2015)*

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VDOT asked VTRC to look into potential mitigation for deer crashes

VDOT safety analysis: Afton Mountain Area

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384 302 224 1056

34 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Fixed Object Off Road Rear End Deer (police records) Carcass Removals

Collision Types Staunton to Charlottesville, I-64 MM 87-118 (2012-2016)

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384 302 224 1,056*

34 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Fixed Object Off Road Rear End Deer (police records) Carcass Removals

Collision Types Staunton to Charlottesville, I-64 MM 87-118 (2012-2016)

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50 100 150 200 250 300

2013 2014 2015 2016 Asset Management System Police Reports

Deer Crash Data I-64 in Albemarle County (MM 102 -131).

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50 100 150 200 250 300

2013 2014 2015 2016 Carcass Removals Asset Management System Police Reports

Deer Crash Data with Carcass Removals I-64 in Albemarle County (MM 102 -131).

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Collision Types, I-64 in Albemarle County

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Collision Types, I-64 in Albemarle County

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Deer and Bear Carcasses (1 mi segments) 2012-2016

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1 1 10 3 3 2 1 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 Deer Bear

I-64 Mile Markers

Afton Mtn

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Virginia Deer Crash Data (2012 – 2016)

10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Insurance Claims Asset Management System Police Reports

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Study Background

  • The U.S. road system includes more than 582,000 bridges longer than

20 feet, 480,000 of which are over waterways.*

  • The road system also includes millions of smaller structures, many of

which serve as passageways for wildlife.*

  • Because these structures were not designed for wildlife passage, they

have no fencing. Research is needed to establish how retrofitting an individual existing underpass with fencing affects AVCs and the use of the structure. First, data is needed to support fencing recommendations

*Forman et al., 2003

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Purpose of Study

Evaluate activity and behavior of white-tailed deer and other wildlife along (1) unfenced isolated underpasses and (2) a forested riparian corridor with no viable underpasses

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Charlottesville, VA

5 mi (8 km)

10 x 12 ft openings 189 ft long 307 ft span

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Methods

  • Collect carcass removal data (2012-present)
  • Monitor study sites with cameras

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Camera Monitoring (2 yrs)

52 cameras deployed March 2013

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Camera Monitoring

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Primary questions:

Underpasses

  • Wildlife use of the underpasses (full crossings vs turning back)
  • Activity and behavior along the adjacent roadside
  • Roadside activity relative to distance from the underpass

Drainage Corridor with no underpass

  • Activity and behavior of wildlife at drainage/interstate

intersection compared to farther away from intersection

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Site 2 16 cameras

0.5 mile

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Site 3

Forested Riparian Corridor

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Deer and Bear Carcasses 2013-2014 9.2 DVCs per mile per year Bear: 18 bear deaths (2 yrs)

RESULTS

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Deer Carcasses per Month

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5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

RESULTS

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Deer Activity by Time of Day (Sep to Nov)

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336,000 total

  • ~ 1/3 deer
  • 35 black bears
  • Few thousand photos of other species

PHOTOS

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20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Underpass Use

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0

Wildlife Activity

Site 1 vs Site 2 (2 yrs)

Roadside Activity (per camera) Site 1 culvert Site 2 bridge

506 1,867

Deer

139.6 46.9

Deer

Site 1 roadside Site 2 roadside

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Site 1 Deer Activity: 1,152 per yr Deer activity along the roadside adjacent to the culvert was 3 times greater than activity through the underpass

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Site 1 Deer Activity: 1,115 per yr Site 2 Deer Activity: 1,253 per yr Roadside deer activity was 3 times less than activity through the underpass

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Site 1 Deer Activity: 1,115 per yr Site 2 Deer Activity: 1,253 per yr Roadside deer activity was 3 times less than activity through the underpass

DVCs at each site: 7.5/mi/yr

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Crossings through Culvert

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Roadside

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Roadside Behavior

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0.2 0.6 0.4 Deer per Day

0.5 mi

Deer Activity Along Road (n) = Total Deer Activity over 2-yr Period

(21)

(107) (464) (837) (420) (149) (630)

Drainage Corridor Afton Mountain

(520) (219)

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Cost Savings

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Fencing and escape structures for just one underpass is expected to result in a savings in costs associated with deer-vehicle collisions of $501,473

  • ver its service life

Fencings is cost effective when it prevents 1 DVC per mile per year

Assuming $6,617 per DVC (Huijser, 2009)

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Implementation

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Fencing installation at 2 underpasses Feb-June 2017

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Implementation

  • deer warning messages on changeable

message signs, Oct and Nov 5pm to 9am (Crozet to Afton Mountain)

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Opportunities?

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1 1 10 3 3 2 1 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 Deer Bear

Culvert 115.3 Mechum’s Bridge 110.6 I-64 Mile Markers Stockton Bridge 108.4 South River Bridge 96.5

Potential Target for Virginia Road Ecology Working Group (FWS, DGIF, DCR, conserv groups) Afton Mtn

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Funding Opportunities for Wildlife Crossings

  • Highway Safety Improvement Program
  • Transportation Enhancements program (FAST

ACT) – funds habitat connectivity projects

  • Assoc of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
  • VDOT’s Research Implementation funds
  • Grants
  • Foundations
  • Private Donations
  • Local Taxes

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Thank you

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Technical Review Panel

Vernon Hoke (Project Champion) David Morris Amy O’Leary Nelson Lafon (VDGIF)

Camera Pole Installation

Danny Huffer Gary Wheeler

Field/Research Assistance

Lewis Lloyd Michael Crawley Olivia Daniszewski Lark Washington

Site Visits

Vernon Hoke David Morris VJ Kulkarni Braden Chapmen Bill Jones Darrel Hayes Nelson Lafon Jim Bowman David Kocka Al Bourgeois Mike Pelton

Implementation of Recommendations

Dean Gustafson Matthew Shiley Sharad Uprety David Pearce Jimmy White

Report available http://vtrc.virginiadot.org Report 16-R4 Bridget.Donaldson@vdot.virginia.gov