‘Six lanes of tarmac and vehicles doing 70mph’: can ‘green bridges’ help animals cross the UK’s motorways in safety?

While there is no definitive data on the impact of roads, experts say the links between infrastructure and biodiversity loss are clear.

“It is based around genetic isolation,” Herd says, explaining how wildlife suffers when a habitat is spliced into smaller sections. “They will breed and breed and breed, but the gene pool becomes tighter and tighter and tighter, and that’s not a good thing.”

“They can feed here, get cover, they can bask, they can breed,” says Herd. Ground-nesting birds, such as nightjars, woodlarks and Dartford warblers, will also benefit from the newly connected landscape.

Why?

Sure, I get the argument for ground-bound animals. But while those birds might nest on the ground, they are going to fly when traveling. For them, the road shouldn’t be a genetic obstacle.