India’s first animal overpass has been unveiled by the National Highways Authority of India on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. This 12 km stretch passes through the buffer zone of Rajasthan’s Ranthambore Tiger Reserve that features five wildlife overpasses. By far, it is India’s longest underpass constructed to ease safe animal movement- tigers, bears and other endangered animals.
According to a NHAI official, “This 12-kilometre stretch was one of the most challenging sections of the entire Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. It falls within the buffer zone of the Ranthambore Wildlife Sanctuary, which is home to highly diversified flora and fauna. So, during both construction and post-construction operations, we had to be extremely cautious to ensure that the natural habitat of the animals could coexist with the highway.”
More about the animal overpass on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway
Built keeping the terrain’s sensitivity in mind, the overpass holds a four-meter-high boundary wall and sound barriers for the protection of the animals. In association with the Wildlife Institute of India, about 35,000 trees were planted to further reduce human-wildlife conflict. In addition, a sound rainwater harvesting system was placed every 500 meters for water conservation.
Adopting a sustainable approach to building the animal overpass
Throughout construction, the engineers adopted a sustainable framework in order to execute an eco-sensitive project. A drip irrigation system was implemented to conserve water during maintenance and landscaping. Following, zero wildlife casualties were reported throughout construction as the area was under 24/7 monitoring and personnel were stationed every 200 meters to ensure safe movement of animals.
“This is India’s longest animal overpass corridor. We have maintained 2.5 kilometres of the stretch in complete alignment with the natural terrain, making it the longest wildlife overpass of its kind in the country,” stated an NHAI official.