Squirrel bridge
Construction for small animals to safely cross roads
A squirrel bridge is a construction (similar to a wildlife crossing) which enables small animals, especially squirrels and martens, to safely cross busy roadways. The bridges are a measure for wildlife management and natural habitat preservation, and serve the functions of both animal welfare and accident prevention. The Nutty Narrows Bridge in Longview, Washington, built in 1963, is regarded as the first of its kind. The city has since built eight other bridges for squirrels.
Costs to construct squirrel bridges vary significantly, depending on construction. Simple rope bridge constructions, such as those in Brecht, Belgium, have cost only about 250 euros, while the bridge built in The Hague in 2013 took half a year to construct and cost 150,000-200,000 euros.
01List of squirrel bridges
The following bridges protect the red squirrel, common in Europe, or the North American gray squirrel (either of which may be hunted as an invasive species depending on the continent).
| Image | Country | Place | Year | Type/Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Olympia Way near 18th Avenue, Longview, Washington | 1963 | Suspension bridge | "Nutty Narrows Bridge." | |
| United States | 1318 Kessler Boulevard, Longview, Washington | 2011 | Covered bridge | "Bruce Kamp Bridge." | |
| United States | Nichols Boulevard near Kentucky Boulevard, Longview, Washington | 2012 | Cable-stayed bridge | "John R. Dick Bridge." Modeled after the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts. | |
| United States | Louisiana Street near 23rd Avenue, Longview, Washington | 2014 | Covered bridge | "OBEC Bridge." | |
| United States | Kessler Boulevard near 24th Avenue, Longview, Washington | 2015 | Truss bridge | "Safety Awareness Bridge." Designed and built by the Bits and Bots Robotics Club of R. A. Long High School and Mark Morris High School. | |
| United States | Kessler Boulevard near Washington Way, Longview, Washington | Truss bridge | "R.D. Olson Mfg. Bridge." Modeled after the Lewis and Clark Bridge in Longview, Washington. | ||
| United States | Kessler Boulevard near 20th Avenue, Longview, Washington | Tied-arch bridge | "S & R Bridge." Modeled after the Fremont Bridge (Portland, Oregon). | ||
| United States | Kessler Boulevard near 22nd Avenue, Longview, Washington | Truss bridge | "PUD Bridge." | ||
| Belgium | Brussels, Ring 0 | 2013 | Ropes/nets and steel pipe attached to a gantry | ||
| Belgium | Brecht, Belgium, Andrélaan | 2013 | Two rope bridges | ||
| Belgium | Northeast of Antwerp Province, Belgium | 2023 | Ropes attached to trees at a height of approximately 10 meters. | 16 bridges are installed in Schilde, Schoten, Wijnegem and Deurne. Select positions will be monitored by cameras | |
| France | La Rochelle, Parc Franck-Delmas/Parc d'Orbigny | 2012 | Rope bridge | „Écureuilloduc“ | |
| Netherlands | Rijksweg 12, between Ede and interchange Grijsoord | 2016 | Two rope bridges | ||
| Netherlands | The Hague, Benoordenhoutseweg | 2012 | A camera monitoring the bridge suggested that squirrels largely ignored the bridge in a widely reported story in 2016. As of 2022, however, the bridge is regularly used by both squirrels and martens. | ||
| Netherlands | Amsterdam, Europaboulevard in Amstelpark | 2011/2012 | Parallel ropes connected to netting. | ||
| Netherlands | Roermond, Heinsbergerweg | 2013 | |||
| Germany | Berlin-Friedrichshagen, Müggelseedamm | 2014 | Rope bridge | ||
| Germany | Vlotho, Burgstraße | 2012 | Rope bridge | ||
| United Kingdom | Scotland, Aberdeen | 2008 | |||
| United Kingdom | England, near Formby | 2004 | Rope bridge |
02Similar concepts for other species
| Image | Country | Place | Year | Type/Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Victoria, near Benalla | 2007 | Rope bridge | For sugar gliders and possums | |
| Australia | Victoria, Longwood | Rope bridge | For sugar gliders and possums | ||
| Kenya | Diani Beach | 1997 | about 200, rope ladder construction | "Colobridges", for colobus monkeys |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Squirrel bridge”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Eichhoernchenbruecke 20 - Gegenverkehr.ogv by piratenherford, CC BY 3.0
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