by Chris Mcmillan, CD 98.9 Simcoe

It’s been a long time coming, but construction on three ecopassages under the Long Point Causeway has begun.

The first shovel went into the ground earlier this week and the Long Point Causeway Improvement Project Coordinator, Rick Levick tells CD989 he expects a majority of the project to be completed by the end of December. The three Eco-Passages are being installed to allow turtles, snakes, frogs and other wildlife to avoid the dangers of the roadway. Something Levick is looking forward too.

“It’s great to have construction finally underway but I’ll have to wait until next spring to see that first turtle come out of the other end of an ecopassage, Then I’ll be a really happy camper”

The cost to install the three ecopassages is estimated at $443-thousand dollars, however, the group funded $385-thousand themselves.

Long Point has the 4th highest road death rate for turtles in North America.