Regional Government allocates nearly 300,000 euros for the construction of a passage for fauna on the A-301, in La Carolina

Felipe López highlights the Iberlince program efforts that reduced mortality due to car collision by 30%

Following the collaboration guidelines with the European program Iberlince LIFE to ensure this feline’s survival - one of the most endangered species on the planet -, the Ministry for Development and Housing is establishing a passage for fauna on the A-301 motorway, which connects the municipalities of La Carolina and Úbeda in the Jaén province, one of the main areas with Iberian lynx presence in Andalusia, in the Sierra Morena region. Today, the Minister for Development and Housing, Felipe López, visited the construction site, headed since mid-January by Geocaminos, SL, a company from Jaén to whom 289,300 euros have been adjudicated for its construction in three months.

Felipe López pointed out that "the efforts of the Andalusian Government within the Iberlince program aim to reduce the death rate of lynx due to car collisions by 30%". Indeed, he noted that the intervention currently underway on this motorway "is motivated by the success of the lynx reintroduction program, which has promoted the species’ growth and expansion and, therefore, the risk of collisions and accidents; and that "linear infrastructures cause the fragmentation of the territories they inhabit and pose as a restriction to their natural movements". The efforts made over 15 years of work as part of the recovery plan are now bearing fruit considering that, in that amount of time, the species has gone from 94 to more than 500 specimens in the Iberian Peninsula.

The actions on the A-301, a regional motorway part of the Red Básica (Basic Network), are being carried out between kilometres 3.9 to 9, and between 11.9 and 16.3, by which fencing is being installed at critical spots where most of the accidents have been registered. "These works will facilitate permeability and increase driver safety," said the minister. At these spots, the A-301 registers a Average Daily Traffic (ADT) of 1,912 vehicles per day, 9% of which are heavy vehicles.

The Ministries for Development and Housing, and for the Environment and Territory Planning have maintained a coordinated government action to develop actions aimed at avoiding accidents on the road due to car collisions with wildlife, improving the safety of both the people and animals using these roads. Within this collaborative framework, the Ministry directed by Felipe López takes on the responsibility of making roads and motorways in lynx territories within its jurisdiction permeable, on a budget of 1.2 million euros, given that death by car collision continue to be one of the main causes of fatalities among free roaming lynxes.

Iberlince is the third LIFE project approved by the European Commission for the recovery of the Iberian lynx, with a budget of 34 million euros. As part of this program, the Ministry for Development and Housing has been carrying out various actions on regional roads in areas where the Iberian lynx is present (Doñana and Sierra Morena) since the end of 2014, in coordination with specialists from of the Ministry for the Environment. .

Within the framework of this Iberlince program, a passage for fauna(underpass) has already been built at kilometre 20,800 of the A-483 motorway, in the section that connects the localities of Almonte and El Rocío in the Huelva province.