Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 31, 1995 TAG: 9505310071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MOUNT VERNON LENGTH: Medium
The Army is building a $1 million tunnel to help deer, foxes and beavers safely cross a six-lane parkway and reach a wildlife reserve.
Designed with the help of experts from Pennsylvania and from George Mason University in Fairfax, the tunnel will have a natural bottom to encourage the animals to use it and avoid crossing a $12 million extension of the Fairfax County Parkway through Fort Belvoir.
Maury S. Cralle, deputy to the post commander for development, said the tunnel will be 12 feet tall, 20 feet wide and 184 feet long.
``I'm not talking about a pipeline,'' Cralle told an audience of bemused civic leaders last week. ``This is a big sucker. There will be an opening in the roof so moonlight and breezes can go down there.''
Garrison commander Col. Peter J. Geloso said the Army has a responsibility ``to be good stewards'' of the environment.
Of Fort Belvoir's 8,700 acres, about 3,400 are termed environmentally sensitive. The Army has created a corridor linking wetlands to the Accotink Wildlife Reserve.
Lt. Col. James H. Hayes Jr., director of public works, said that during the design phase of the parkway extension project, Army officials realized the road would bisect the fort's wildlife areas.
Hayes said there are 44 species of animals in the area that could use the tunnel.
``The most prominent are the deer, but if you look around there are foxes, groundhogs, squirrels, rabbits, skunks and beavers,'' Hayes said.
Army officials said they will have to wait and see whether the tunnel works as planned. No barricades will be erected to prevent wildlife from crossing the parkway.
``They'll probably still use the road,'' said one contractor. ``But once they go through it the first time - that's it, they'll know it.''
by CNB