Roadkill studies aim to help animals cross the road

t's more a question of "Where did the chicken cross the road?" At least, that is the question state transportation and wildlife officials hope to answer when they compile and release stats on roadkill in an effort to make sure animals get to the other side.Every year, the Colorado Department of Transportation releases a report on the number, type and location of every animal that did not survive its foray onto the highway. "We break it down by month, species, highway and if you want to go deeper, we even have certain stretches of highway," said Jeff Peterson, CDOT wildlife program manager.Peterson said the studies are primarily used to determine highways or areas that are proving especially dangerous for animals."The obvious thing is we're finding out where animals are not successful in crossing the road," Peterson said. "If there's a big problem with animals, we might recommend a bridge or fencing to make it better for the animals."The numbers also are how CDOT decides where to place animal crossing signs, which actually are based on statistics, Peterson said."We get our biologists involved to look at animal movement and corridors to try to find the problem areas to mitigate potential safety concerns with people and obviously animals," spokesman Jason Clay said. "Our collaboration with CDOT has been great. It's a huge safety hazard, and is bad for wildlife and very dangerous for humans as well."