Data from a new Colorado Department of Transportation road kill survey says drivers in Colorado killed nearly 7,000 wild animals last year, resulting in two human deaths and almost 400 injuries.
Those numbers represent a roughly 50 percent increase in wildlife collisions over the past four years.
Data shows the recent construction of several wildlife crossings on state Highway 9 between Frisco and Breckenridge appear to be working. Since CDOT completed two overpasses and five underpasses on a 10-mile stretch of that road, collisions have decreased by 87 percent.
Federal, state and local officials have identified other hot spots where they would like to build more wildlife crossings, specifically on Interstate-70 and state Highway 91, south of Copper Mountain.
