"World's largest" wildlife overpass coming to Colorado

Driving the news: The Greenland Wildlife Overpass is rising over I-25 at Mile Point 165.4, just north of Monument — a hot spot for migrating elk, mule deer, pronghorn and other large game.

• The overpass will span 209 feet across six lanes of traffic and measure 200 feet wide.
• It will connect 39,000 acres of big game habitat in Douglas County to more than 1 million acres of the Pike National Forest.

State of play: Construction is in its third of four phases and halfway complete, CDOT spokesperson Tamara Rollison tells Axios Denver.

• The final phase is slated to begin in September, with full completion scheduled in December.

By the numbers: Roughly 85,000 trips are made daily on this stretch of I-25 — which links Colorado's most populated cities, Denver and Colorado Springs. CDOT estimates that number will climb to 150,000 by 2040.

• More than 5,000 vehicle-animal collisions are reported annually in Colorado, per CDOT, costing an estimated $80 million in cleanup, medical costs and animal losses.

The big picture: Colorado has built more than 100 wildlife crossings around the state, most of which are tunnels, according to CDOT.

What's next: Drivers can expect daytime and overnight lane closures on I-25, narrowed lanes, temporary realignments and slower speeds in the work zone until the project wraps at the end of the year.