Drive between Sisters and Suttle Lake on U.S. Highway 20 and it can be common to see the carcasses of deer and elk along the roadside, each one struck and killed by a vehicle.

On average, more than 1 deer or elk is killed each day along that stretch of road. That includes nothing about the animals that are wounded and may later die, nor the damage and injury for drivers and vehicles.

What can work in such dangerous corridors are wildfire bridges or tunnels, enabling wildlife to cross safely without having to dodge traffic. There are already successful wildlife underpasses in Oregon, such as along U.S. Highway 97 in Central Oregon at Lava Butte.

The Oregon Department of Transportation may put in a set of four wildlife overcrossings on Highway 20. The bridges would have fences on either side to try to guide larger animals to the safe place to cross.

But the funding is not a certainty. Cidney Bowman, wildlife passage coordinator for Oregon Department of Transportation, told The Sisters Nugget. They may cost $50 million.

The Oregon Department of Transportation budget has many priorities. It is already saying again that it must cut back on snowplowing and other road maintenance.

Legislators will face any number of difficult choices about funding in the next session — schools, housing, fulfilling the state’s obligation to provide public defenders and many more. Ask legislative candidates how they will decide where to spend money.