Unfinished wildlife bridge joins list of failed California projects

California has become notorious for building things that do not exist.

The latest is Gavin Newsom’s unfinished “wildlife bridge,” otherwise known as the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.

The structure was supposed to allow animals, such as mountain lions, to cross over the 101 Freeway unharmed. 

(Presumably, the animals would be able to read the signs guiding them to the bridge. Or perhaps they have GPS.)

The bridge was supposed to cost about $92 million, at most, and was meant to be finished in 2025. 

But the bridge has not been finished, and it is $21 million over budget.

The wildlife bridge joins other well-known California infrastructure failures.

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is $21 million over budget. Anadolu via Getty Images

There is the infamous “train to nowhere,” the massive high-speed rail project that was meant to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco in under three hours for about $40 billion at most. 

Nearly 20 years after it was approved, the train is still under construction. Not a single inch of track has been laid, and Newsom canceled the LA-to-San Francisco route, retaining only a portion of the route in the rural Central Valley, while projected costs sour past $100 billion.

The train will be at least 12 years late, arriving in 2032 instead of 2020.

That is even later than the Automated People Mover at LAX, a light rail that is meant to connect airport terminals with the LA Metro, a car rental center, and parking.

The People Mover is four years late, and may not be finished in time for the 2026 World Cup.

And, speaking of wildlife — whatever happened to the LA River Ecosystem Restoration Project?

Then-Mayor Eric Garcetti proudly boasted that he had brought home $1 billion from the Obama administration for restoring the ecosystem of the LA River.

More than a decade later, the river is still a concrete channel.

The bridge was supposed to cost about $92 million and was meant to be finished in 2025.  CalTrans District 7

Then there is the state’s attempt to create a new 911 system, which cost $450 million and produced — nothing.

Or the $7.5 billion water bond, which took forever to be spent. The Sites Reservoir — the most important new project funded by the bond — hasn’t even broken ground yet.

Public projects don’t seem to happen quickly, or at all, in California.

Somehow, it has become acceptable to run late, or over budget — or to fail entirely.

All state and local officials seem to care about is the flow of public money.

That, and power.

One thing that happened exceptionally quickly was Proposition 50, through which Newsom and his party redrew the state’s congressional districts as part of a national fight with President Donald Trump and the Republicans.

Once Newsom announced the plan, the maps were ready almost immediately. Facing a deadline to change the district boundaries before the 2026 midterm elections, California’s politicians moved more quickly than they ever had before.

When it comes to actual concrete, steel, and dirt, however, nothing seems to happen.

Even the wildlife appear to have noticed. 

Perhaps if they could vote, the project would have been finished.

Then again, probably not.

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