India opens safe wildlife corridor

In the heart of Madhya Pradesh, along National Highway 45, India has inaugurated its first wildlife-safe corridor, a project designed to reduce accidents involving vehicles and wild animals in one of the country’s most sensitive ecological corridors.

The project covers a segment of approximately 2 kilometers as part of a larger 11.96-kilometer highway project that passes through areas near the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve and the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary. Here, heavy traffic has coexisted for years with deer, wild boars, and sambars. The National Highways Authority of India’s response was not merely a warning sign, but a visible and concrete technical solution.

At the heart of the project is a highly visible red marking: a red thermoplastic layer, approximately 5 millimeters thick, hot-applied across the entire roadway in the areas deemed most critical. The bright color and slightly raised texture create an immediate visual cue. No intrusive barriers or speed bumps, just a clearly visible cue prompting drivers to slow down.

The idea is inspired by solutions adopted on international thoroughfares such as Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, but here it serves a specific environmental purpose. The red color indicates the entrance to a wildlife corridor, where the driver’s attention becomes an integral part of the protection system.

Safety doesn’t stop there. Along the affected stretch, 25 wildlife underpasses have been built, designed to allow animals to cross the road without being exposed to traffic. To guide them toward these passages, fences approximately 2.5 meters high, installed on either side of the roadway, prevent any accidental entry.

To round out the system, speed detection devices and cameras are positioned on the small bridges, which also serve as crossing points. Monitoring is continuous and will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the project over time.

In a country where roads traverse active reserves and complex habitats, the “red road” represents a paradigm shift: the infrastructure does not eliminate the problem, but addresses it through targeted planning, transforming a critical point into an initiative that will hopefully soon be replicated beyond India’s borders.