Teck Resources teams with province to build overpass to save bighorn sheep

A new overpass is being built over Highway 93 near Radium Hot Springs to allow bighorn sheep to cross the highway (Photo courtesy Teck Resources Ltd.)

Teck Resources is stepping up to help save bighorn sheep in the Radium Hot Springs area.

The company announced a contribution of $2.5 million to help construct a new wildlife overpass in the East Kootenay south of Radium Hot Springs.

The overpass will reduce the exposure of bighorn sheep to vehicle strikes along Highway 93/95, while also making it safer for residents and other travelers who use the highway.

The overpass will cross at Mile Hill, which was selected following inspections by representatives from the B.C. transportation and infrastructure and forest ministries in conjunction with the city of Radium Hot Springs and Parks Canada.

Signs outside Radium Hot Springs warn of bighorn sheep in the area.

The project includes about six kilometres of wildlife fencing and gates that guide animals to the overpass and safely across the highway.

“This project is critical to maintaining wildlife habitat connectivity, while protecting people and bighorn sheep in the East Kootenay,” said Teck CEO Jonathan Price. “Teck’s $2.5 million contribution will support bighorn sheep populations across the region and furthers our goal of becoming Nature Positive by 2030.”

Conservation groups say the herd in the Radium Springs area is one of the last viable herds of bighorn sheep in the area, but that its numbers have dropped from around 230 sheep in 2003 to 120 in 2019.

It said around 10 per cent of the herd is killed annually in vehicle collisions.