CHAUMONT BAY â The Jefferson County highway department just installed its first official âturtle crossing,â meant to help a local threatened species of turtle move between the Chaumont Bay and Lake Ontario without getting hit by cars.
The crossing is a buried concrete pipe, which connects a marshy area of the Chaumont Bay to a space near a state-owned boat launch into Lake Ontario. Nearby populations of Blandingâs turtles, with their characteristic yellow chin and throat, are relatively plentiful in the area and can pass through the tube without ever having to cross the road above.
As part of a $5.4 million project funded by the Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative to raise County Route 57, also known as Isthmus Road, and prevent it from flooding during high water events, county highway crews worked with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to install the roughly 100-foot long oval concrete pipe underneath the roadway.