Michigan Zoo Builds Turtle Crossing on M-43

John Ball Zoo and Grand Valley State University built a turtle crossing along the M-43 corridor in Barry County to reduce road deaths.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Reptiles

Low concrete culvert passage beneath a rural two-lane road opening onto a cattail wetland with sedge grasses and woodland behind. — John Ball Zoo and Grand Valley State University built a turtle crossing along M-43 in Barry County to cut turtle road deaths between wetlands. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should Michigan road projects include wildlife crossings for turtles and other animals?

John Ball Zoo and Grand Valley State University built a turtle crossing along M-43 in Barry County. Volunteer-collected data identified the corridor as a turtle mortality hotspot.

Why it matters

Road mortality is one of the primary threats to North American freshwater turtles, and turtles in the area had relied on an aging culvert to move between adjacent wetlands, often forcing them onto the pavement. The crossing gives turtles in Michigan a safer route between habitats.

The crossing uses a 6-by-7-foot box culvert with fencing spanning several hundred feet, replacing an 18-inch metal culvert that was partially collapsed. The M-43 corridor accounted for 151 of 733 total turtle observations recorded by volunteers across 32 active monitoring sites.

The players

John Ball Zoo

A zoo founded in 1891 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which launched the Great Lakes Rare Turtle Program and partnered on the crossing.

Grand Valley State University

A public university in Allendale, Michigan, that partnered with John Ball Zoo to build the turtle crossing along M-43.

The details

Volunteers conducted roadside surveys to document turtle deaths, and the team mapped potential crossing sites within 50 miles of Grand Rapids using wetland data and historical records of Blanding's and spotted turtles. A second culvert was installed specifically for wildlife movement.

The Great Lakes Rare Turtle Program was launched through the zoo in 2023.
The article on the new M-43 turtle crossing was published November 5, 2026.

Roadmap

The crossing grows out of the Great Lakes Rare Turtle Program, launched in 2023, which uses volunteer monitoring at 32 sites to identify where turtles are dying. It applies that mapping to a concrete infrastructure fix on a single Michigan state route.

Drivers on M-43 in Barry County should watch for turtles near the new crossing and slow down in the area. Residents who find injured turtles can report sightings to the monitoring network to help the program track mortality hotspots.

The takeaway

Small infrastructure changes, guided by volunteer data, can reduce wildlife deaths on busy roads. Drivers in Michigan can help by slowing down in marked turtle corridors.