The Oregon Department of Transportation recently learned it will receive a $33 million grant from the federal government to build a wildlife crossing overpass on I-5 in Southern Oregon.

It will be the first overcrossing built to reduce wildlife and vehicle collisions along I-5, which spans nearly 1,400 miles from the Washington-Canada border to the California-Mexico border.

ODOT, which is providing nearly $4 million in matching funds for the project, removes about 6,000 deer carcasses struck by motorists each year in Oregon.

Wildlife corridors can not only prevent fatalities but also save motorists thousands of dollars in vehicle repairs – on average, $9,000 for a collision with a deer and $24,000 for elk, according to the agency.

Karen Mager, an associate professor of environmental science, policy, and sustainability at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, has led a team of undergraduate students to set up camera traps and collect more than a million videos and photos of the diverse wildlife that live along the I-5 corridor south of Ashland, in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.

“We have mountain lions, coyotes, bears, bobcats, Pacific fishers. We’re at the northern edge of the ringtail, which is this really cool kind of raccoon relative, and so we have a lot of diversity here,” she said.

The images Mager and her students captured were critical to identifying the future location of the overpass within the Mariposa Preserve of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, less than two miles from the California border.

The crossing will essentially be a wide bridge arching above the north and southbound lanes of the freeway, designed with natural features such as native vegetation and high walls to dampen the roar from traffic passing below while keeping animals safe.

“The bridge itself is actually going to be connected to a couple miles of fencing to the north and to the south that help funnel animals towards the wildlife crossing. …. It’s got these jump outs on it so that if an animal accidentally ends up in the freeway, they can easily jump out to the safe side of the fence, but animals on the safe side of the fence won’t be able to easily get into the highway,” Mager said.

Construction of the wildlife crossing is expected to begin in early 2028.

“The overpass will be kind of an amazing, beautiful ‘Welcome to Oregon’ statement as you drive in from California, and it’s going to have artwork on it,” Mager said.

Karen Mager spoke to “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller. Click play to listen to the full conversation:

EUGENE — By far Oregon’s biggest remaining home game this season, a top 20 clash with two-time reigning Big Ten champion Purdue carries significant stakes.

The No. 13 Ducks (15-2, 4-2 Big Ten) are ahead of the No. 17 Boilermakers in the polls, but behind them in the conference standings and NET entering Saturday’s game (12 p.m., NBC) at Matthew Knight Arena.

Both teams could use the Quadrant 1 win to improve their respective resumes come Selection Sunday, with Purdue (14-4, 6-1) arguably in bigger need of the road victory with all of its losses coming away from home. But as jockeying at the top of the Big Ten intensifies these are the matchups that will go a long way to determining the top four seeds in the conference tournament, which all receive double byes.

A Happy Valley man died Wednesday after being washed out to sea by abnormally high tides just south of Depoe Bay.

It’s the second fatal incident blamed on the so-called “king tides” — the largest tides of the season — this winter.

Hong B Su, 45, was fishing on the rocks of the shoreline at the north end of Otter Crest Loop when he was “washed out to sea by a wave” at roughly 2:04 p.m., according to Oregon State Police.

Su was in the water for approximately 39 minutes before he was recovered by the United States Coast Guard. He was pronounced deceased when he reached the Depoe Bay Coast Guard station.

The tides were near their highest level of the month on Wednesday. The peak of the king tides was recorded on Jan. 12 at 9.84 feet in Newport, and on the day Su was swept into the sea, Jan. 15, they were just a bit lower at 9.33 feet, according to the National Weather Service. On Friday, high tide was under 8 feet. King tides is an unofficial term for the highest tides of the year.

In December, a 72-year-old North Bend man who went to photograph the king tides at the beach also died after apparently being swept into the surf. His body was recovered nearly a month later in Haynes Inlet.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.