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California’s wildlife bridge became a target for the right. Now it’s eyeing the finish line
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2026
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Building a large bridge like that, with the added complication of holding lots of protentially water soaked heavy soil and trees roots that try to break through the bottom isn't cheap. More or less the same reason why roof-top parks are prohibitively expensive in most cases.
What I find a bit surprising is that they didn't go for a tunnel for the cars, which is typically cheaper to do.
Easier to build a bridge over a freeway that already exists than to divert the freeway into a tunnel, I guess. Tunnels also require solid bedrock for structural integrity, which for all I know, this region may not have. And there may be additional risks in California with the frequency of earthquakes. But I'm not an expert, just assuming that they already weighed options and had reasons to settle on this approach.
Tunnels are a more costly than bridges, especially if you can't just cut and cover.
That highly depends of the terrain and whats on top of it. Urban tunnels are much more expensive indeed.