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Group wants to turn old interstate bridge into wildlife crossing, pedestrian walkway
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Group wants to turn old interstate bridge into wildlife crossing, pedestrian walkway
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Plans to transform ageing Mississippi River bridge into world’s longest wildlife crossing
A 1.1km bridge between Iowa and Illinois over the USA’s most famous river could be transformed into the world’s longest wildlife crossing under radical plans to prevent it from demolition.
The 55-year-old Interstate-80 bridge currently serves 42,000 motorists every day. However it is due to be torn down and replaced due to its deteriorating condition.
However, conservationist Chad Pregracke has tabled a radical proposal that would save the bridge from demolition and would allow bison to freely cross the Mississippi River.
The proposal – aptly dubbed Bison Bridge – involves constructing a pedestrian path and bike path on one side of the bridge and on the other an enclosed bison paddock.
Advocates for the Bison Bridge, as it is being called, say repurposing the structure rather than demolishing it would reduce waste, save costs, and benefit the environment. Pregracke says the project would help turn the Quad City area into a world-class destination, highlighting the Mississippi River as a feature worth traveling to, rather than a body of water to be crossed on the highway. âI mean, how could you not stop for bison?â Pregracke said.
Native American groups say bison restoration is an important means of reconnecting with the land and local history â and recognizing the interlinked atrocities committed against bison and Indigenous people.
Where the buffalo roam: world’s longest wildlife bridge could cross the Mississippi Kari Paul © Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Alan Rogers/AP
Between Iowa and Illinois, spanning the only stretch of the Mississippi River that flows from east to west, sits an exhausted 55-year-old cement bridge. Each day 42,000 cars drive across the ageing structure, which is slated to be torn down and replaced.
But when Chad Pregracke looks at the bridge, he has a different vision entirely – not an old overpass to be demolished, but a home for the buffalo to roam.
The conservationist and local hero hails from the Quad Cities, a 300,000-person metropolitan area spanning two states on either side of the Mississippi River. It is named for its four cities: Bettendorf and Davenport in south-eastern Iowa and Moline and Rock Island in north-western Illinois.
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