Best Management Practices for New Roads

Follow these standard best management practices that apply to all roadwork projects.

Plan road routes to maintain or enhance habitat connectivity. Approach route planning from a larger, landscape perspective; consider wildlife movement patterns and avoid building roads in significant wildlife habitats, like wetlands.

Consider future land use changes when route planning and bundle roads with other roads or developments.

Where roads route along or through bogs and fens, align roads parallel to water flow.

Build roads to the minimum width required.

Incorporate wildlife crossings and fencing into road designs.

• Reduce speed limits.
• Use traffic calming measures on roads with high wildlife mortality, and roads that go through important wildlife habitat.
• Install animal-vehicle detection systems.

Incorporate soil berms or noise reduction walls to reduce noise and separate habitats.

Modify medians and curbs to facilitate wildlife movement, such as sloped or roughened curbs.

In areas where roads go through important habitat, avoid using barriers like the Ontario Tall Wall or Texas Jersey.

Use metal or cable barriers instead of concrete barriers.

In continuous concrete barrier designs, incorporate scuppers (basal cut-outs) at intervals to meet passage needs of wildlife present.

In areas where raised barriers are needed, direct animals toward below-grade passages, such as underpasses, bridges, or creek culverts.

For vegetated medians, minimize the area covered in shrubs.

For vegetated medians, plant large trees taller than the tallest vehicle on the road.

Wait for further research before creating or maintaining wildflower meadows and other pollinator habitats in highway medians.