Province begins work on $17.5 million wildlife overpass near Canmore, Alta.

Traffic on the Trans Canada highway passing through Canmore, Alta., Sunday, May 30, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A long-awaited wildlife overpass near the town of Canmore is one more step closer to reality as work began on the project on Thursday.

The crossing will be called the Bow Valley Gap overpass and is located near the exit for Lac Des Arcs. It is the first one in Alberta that is being built on provincial land outside Canada's mountain parks.

The bridge over the highway, which is built to include natural features such as trees, rocks and grass, is expected to "drastically reduce" the possibility of crashes involving wildlife, says Alberta's Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney.

"The overpass will not only increase safety for the travelling public and wildlife, it will save thousands of dollars each year in property damage caused by collisions," she said in a release.

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y), a wildlife group that has lobbied the government to build the overpass for several years, says it is "thrilled" by the development.

"The Bow Valley Gap overpass is one huge step closer to being used by elk, bears and other wildlife," said Adam Linnard, Y2Y's Alberta program manager.

"We extend our congratulations to Alberta Transportation on today's groundbreaking."

Officials say a number of incidents on the stretch of highway, including the deaths of seven elk that were hit by a semi-tractor-trailer in 2019, served as the reason for the crossing.

Construction on the project, which includes 12 kilometres of wildlife fencing along the highway, will create 102 jobs, the government says. It is expected to be complete by fall 2023.