All photos by Neil Zeller, courtesy of Dialog
The AIL team is proud to have been a partner in the Bow Valley Gap Wildlife Overpass project near Canmore, Alberta. The recently completed crossing contains two arches with spans of 24 metres each featuring AIL’s Ultra-Cor — the world’s strongest steel structural plate solution. AIL’s involvement spanned the full project cycle — consultation, design, manufacturing, supply and site-assistance during the installation. For the AIL team, it was a pleasure to work alongside such capable project partners, including:
- Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors (Owner)
- Dialog (Prime Consultant)
- Egis (Consultant)
- PME Inc. (Prime Contractor)
The project — Alberta’s first wildlife overpass project in its provincial park system — has won several notable awards for environmental benefits, vehicular safety and engineering innovation:
- Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors and Dialog won an Environmental Achievement Award from the Transportation Association of Canada.
- Dialog, Egis and PME won the Minister’s Partnering Award and the Minister’s Award for Transportation Innovationfrom Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors.
- Dialog won an Award of Meritfrom the Consulting Engineers of Alberta.
- AIL won two 2024 Project of the Year Awardsfrom the National Corrugated Steel Pipe Association in the Resiliency and Galvanizing categories.
Congratulations to our project partners and AIL team members for this well-deserved recognition on a marquee Canadian infrastructure project.
The Bow Valley Gap Wildlife Overpass serves to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and connect wildlife migration routes and patterns that cross the Trans-Canada Highway. Design considerations sought to balance technical complexity, driver safety and the ecological needs of the diverse wildlife populations. The Exshaw location was selected based on traditional migration patterns, and the design responds to the topography and local ecology of the surroundings to integrate it into the landscape in a manner that is sensitive and thoughtful. View Project Profile and Videos >>
The Bow Valley Gap Wildlife Overpass has also been receiving some notable recognition from media outlets across North America:
- CTV News, March 20, 2025
Calgary event centre architects receive Minister’s Award for Bow Valley Gap wildlife crossing - Fast Company, April 8, 2025
This stunning wildlife overpass helps animals cross one of Canada’s busiest highways - ReNew Canada, May 13, 2025:
Alberta’s first wildlife overpass outside Banff National Park reduces wildlife-vehicle collisions - Planetizen, May 20, 2025:
Where the Wild Things Cross: Wildlife-vehicle collisions cost Americans over $8 billion annually. The solution can be simple — and stunning - Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
Bridging the Gap: Progress on Alberta’s Bow Valley Gap Wildlife Crossing
The Bow Valley Gap project is AIL’s second major wildlife crossing in this region of Western Canada. Years earlier, AIL partnered on a Super-Cor crossing in Banff National Park. Banff is a world leader in wildlife crossings, with wildlife-vehicle collisions being reduced by more than 80% and, for elk and deer alone, by more than 96%. No other location in the world has as many and varied types of wildlife crossings.
Learn more about our proven performance in wildlife crossing and fish passage solutions
With a successful project pedigree spanning over 60 years and a few continents, AIL is your go-to partner in all types of wildlife crossings and fish passages. Our wildlife crossing specialists have worked closely with some of the sector’s top authorities on wildlife behaviour and safe wildlife passage design. More about this >>
Ultra-Cor, the world’s strongest structural steel plate
See how deep-corrugated Ultra-Cor Structural Steel Plate is taking Buried Metal Bridges to new dimensions in capability and performance with six-lane spans of over 35 m (115′).
More about Ultra-Cor >>
