How a Red & Black Highway Design in MP Is Making It Safer for Animals to Cross the Road

The Bhopal-Jabalpur National Highway in Madhya Pradesh cuts through the heart of the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve — home to tigers, leopards, bears, wild dogs, and a wealth of other wildlife. For years, the highway presented a deadly challenge. 

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Animals attempting to cross seldom collided with vehicles, resulting in repeated fatalities and threatening the balance of the ecosystem.

To address this, the National Highways Authority of India has introduced an innovative wildlife-sensitive design along a two-kilometre stretch. The road has been raised and resurfaced with red and black thermoplastic markings, slightly elevated to provide both visual and tactile warnings to drivers. 

This prompts vehicles to slow down in a section notorious for animal crossings, without the abrupt disruption of conventional speed bumps. The effect is immediate because drivers are more alert, and animals are far less likely to fall victim to traffic.

Beneath the highway, 25 underpasses have been constructed, carefully placed along known wildlife paths. Iron fencing lines both sides of the road, guiding animals towards these passages and preventing random and dangerous crossings. 

Early signs from similar projects offer reassurance. From deer to tigers, animals have been seen using these underpasses with ease, moving along familiar routes without being forced to alter their natural paths.

Conservation experts point to this mix of raised road markings, fencing, and underpasses as a practical middle ground — one that acknowledges the need for infrastructure while responding thoughtfully to the lives that already exist on the landscape.

Today, the stretch of red-and-black road tells a compelling story of balance. Vehicles slow down. Animals pass through safely. Movement continues on both sides.

It shows that when roads are designed with care and ecological insight, they do not have to divide habitats. With intention and planning, development and wildlife can share the same space — without one coming at the cost of the other.