Wildlife Crossing Closures Coming For 101 Freeway

Updated Apr 15, 2024 1:35 PM

Published Apr 12, 2024 5:00 AM

A digital rendering of a busy highway with a large horizontal bridge over all lanes. Vehicles are driving on the highway, and the bridge has the text "Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing" facing the front. It's also covered in trees and shrubs, a contrast to the paved roadway below.

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All southbound lanes of the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills will be closed for five hours each weeknight for construction on the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing starting Monday.

The closure will extend from Liberty Canyon to Chesebro roads, but the northbound lanes will stay open, and Caltrans has detours available for drivers. The entire project could last until early 2026.

What you should know

The southbound lanes will close from 11:00 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturday mornings, the lanes may reopen a little later.

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Drivers can take Agoura Road to get around the closure, getting back on the 101 Freeway near Liberty Canyon Road, according to Caltrans. But if you’re hoping to avoid side streets and potential delays, you can bypass the construction zone by taking the 23, 118, and 405 freeways.

Caltrans will post updates on X, formerly known as Twitter, but you can check the current closures anytime here. The agency is reminding drivers to slow down and keep an eye out for workers — traffic fines are doubled in construction zones.

Once the work on the southbound side is complete, crews will switch to the northbound lanes, which will bring additional overnight closures.

A map of Southern California, specifically from about Lost Hills Road in Calabasas to Palo Comado Canyon in Agoura Hills. A stretch of the 101 Freeway is highlighted in red to represent a closure. A section of Agoura Road is highlighted in blue, representing a southbound detour. At the top of the image is white text that reads "5-hour full closure" and another black box with white text that reads "Southbound 101 Closed Starting at 11:59 PM Monday - Friday. Opens at 5 am (later on weekends). Northbound 101 open all night."

The street detour in Agoura Hills to get around the 101 Freeway southbound closure.

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Caltrans

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A map of Southern California, specifically from around Beverly Hills to Camarillo. White text in a bright blue box that reads "Freeway Detour During Highway 101 Closure in Agoura Hills" is at the top of the image. Several sections of highway are highlighted in blue, for the southbound detour, and green, for the northbound detour from the 101 Freeway, to the 23, to the 118, and ending on the 405. There is also a section highlighted in red with orange text that reads "closed at night."

The freeway detour for both the southbound and future northbound closures on the 101 Freeway.

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Caltrans

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What are they working on?

Crews will be installing the first girders, a nearly 100-foot-long box of reinforced concrete that will act as the base level of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. The girders will help support the structure’s horizontal reach across one of the country’s busiest highways, according to the National Wildlife Federation’s #SaveLACougars campaign.

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Beth Pratt, the California regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation, said in a statement this work will make the structure start to look like the bridge it will become.

“We know that closures of the freeway do have impacts on traffic and the community, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” Pratt said in a statement. “And these ‘Closures for Cougars’ are for a good cause — helping to save the area mountain lions from extinction and ensuring a future for all wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains.”

Each girder weighs more than 126 tons, and those being placed over the northbound lanes will be even bigger and heavier. For comparison, just one of those pieces is about the same weight as 14 African elephants, the statement said.

*Wildlife Crossing on US-101*
All lanes of southbound US-101 will close 11pm-4am Mon-Friday for several weeks starting Monday 4/15. A virtual meeting is open to the public on Mon 4/15 from 4 pm to 5pm at:https://t.co/k14l2ep2hE
Or phone 1-408-418-9388
Access code: 249 882 34807 pic.twitter.com/AQxybMBAkT
— Caltrans District 7 (@CaltransDist7) April 14, 2024

Installing all 82 girders across 10 lanes of the 101 Freeway is expected to take more than a month to complete. The wildlife crossing itself is scheduled to wrap up construction by the end of next year or early 2026.

You can also take a live look at the progress here, and learn more about the project here. Caltrans and the National Wildlife Federation will also be hosting a virtual community meeting at 4 p.m. Monday.