Turtle crossing in Eastern Townships successful in saving critters

Below the busy Highway 245 in the Eastern Townships — where cars and trucks speed across the bridge over Peasley Pond — turtles and other small critters are now able to safely cross the road at their own pace.

The corridors were built in 2017 to reduce the historically high number of turtles killed by cars on a stretch of highway that has been identified as a death trap for the reptiles.

So far, they've been successful. Whereas some years nearly 30 turtles were found dead on the side of the road, only one was killed in 2018.

"And this year so far we haven't found any," said Mélanie Lelièvre, the director of Appalachian Corridor. 

The organization partnered with the Ministry of Transportation to build two tunnels under the bridge, after realizing so many reptiles were being hit by cars.

The Ministry was in the process of changing the road's culvert and agreed to add the tunnels to the road structure, connecting both sides of the pond.

A fence helps animals navigate toward the passages instead of climbing up to the pavement.

Use for other animals

In addition to the frogs, snakes and turtles that use the tunnels, other small mammals have also taken to the new passage — including raccoons, squirrels and porcupines.

The main purpose of the structure however, said Lelièvre, was to protect the amphibians.

"We needed to do something because otherwise we could have had a decline in the turtle population," she said.

With low reproduction rates, the survival of the population depends on the longevity of the adults, Lelièvre explained.

"So when we have many adults that are dying because of car collision — there's a red flag."

Appalachian Corridor plans to monitor the passage for the next three years to prove its effectiveness, after which Lelièvre hopes the government will build more crossings in other regions of the province.

"We're quite proud of what happened because overall it's a really very positive and a successful project."