Willard Springs Wildlife Overpass Pumps $15.8 Million into Northern Arizona Economy

“This project will pump $15.8 million into the Northern Arizona economy, between wages, material costs and transportation,” said SEMA Construction, Inc. Project Superintendent TK Boyer, the contractor selected for the job. Funded primarily through a Federal Highway Administration Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program grant, the overpass project is part of a national effort to make highways safer for both drivers and wildlife.

Local Jobs, Local Dollars

With offices in Flagstaff and Munds Park, SEMA has intentionally structured its workforce and subcontracting strategy to prioritize local hiring and keep dollars circulating in Northern Arizona. “A lot of our labor force is from right here in Northern Arizona,” said Boyer, a Show Low resident raising his family in the region. The current team includes workers from Flagstaff, Wickenburg and other rural Arizona communities.

Willard Springs Wildlife Overpass Project Manager and Civil Engineer Clae Rogers also lives in Flagstaff, underscoring SEMA’s commitment to keeping high-paying, skilled positions within the region.

Boosting Regional Suppliers

From concrete to crane work, Northern Arizona companies are directly benefiting from the project. CEMEX, which operates a batch plant in Flagstaff, is supplying what will total approximately 350 truckloads of concrete. Aggregates are being hauled from CEMEX’s Grey Mountain site and Clarkdale Aggregates in the Verde Valley. A trucking company from Pine is moving some materials, supporting local driving jobs in the process.

Additional companies with Northern Arizona operations are helping fuel the local economy through their involvement in the project:

• Brundage-Bone Concrete Pumping, now with a new Flagstaff branch.
• Southwest Industrial Rigging, handling heavy lifting out of their Flagstaff office.
• Paradise Rebar, Inc., based in Phoenix and led by a summertime Munds Park resident.
• White Cap, Flagstaff’s construction supply store.
• Evergreen Spray Service, a woman-owned Prescott business managing invasive species removal.
• SEMA is also renting equipment from regional suppliers in Flagstaff and Prescott Valley, including Empire Cat, Sunstate Equipment and United Rentals.
• “The whole project is under the Buy American Act,” Boyer said. So, almost everything they use is sourced domestically, and much of it is locally sourced.

Infrastructure Investment with Wildlife and Motorists in Mind 

Construction activity is currently focused on pouring fittings for one of several elk escape ramps, which provide one-way exit points for animals that may get trapped on the highway side of the 8-foot-high fencing. The full project includes not only the vegetated overpass but also 16 miles of fencing (eight miles on each side of I-17), designed to guide elk, deer and even black bears toward the safe crossing.

“This is a proven system – it will work,” said Boyer, who previously helped construct the successful wildlife pass on State Route 260 between Forest Lakes and Christopher Creek. According to a recent Arizona Game and Fish Department report, elk-vehicle collisions were reduced by 84% within a year at the Christopher Creek section after fencing was put in place.

Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) data supported the selection of the Willard Springs location, which spans from milepost 322.76 to milepost 331.13. The section of I-17 designated for the overpass and fencing accounted for 58% of all wildlife-vehicle collisions between Stoneman Lake Road and Flagstaff from 2018 to 2022. Within that broader 32-mile corridor, approximately 75% of those incidents involved elk – massive animals that can weigh up to 1,100 pounds.

Over the past years, the agency fitted more than 200 elk near Flagstaff with GPS collars to track herd movement. Wildlife-vehicle collisions were also logged.

“During a study to help identify the locations of the crossings, we documented 100 elk and deer killed by vehicles each year on I-17 from Stoneman Lake to Flagstaff, and many of those go unreported, particularly those with commercial vehicles,” AZGFD biologist Jeff Gagnon told Quad Cities Business News. When asked about crashes involving commercial vehicles, he explained they’re difficult to track because commercial drivers often don’t stop – unlike passenger vehicles, which typically sustain enough damage to require a crash report.

“Game and Fish says [the overpass] will be used more heavily after two years, when elk establish patterns of herd movement,” explained Boyer. 

Long-Term Value for Northern Arizona

With project completion scheduled for fall 2026, economic benefits will continue for at least two construction seasons – along with potential long-term gains in reduced vehicle damage, fewer insurance claims and improved driver safety.

As work continues, the Arizona Department of Transportation urges drivers to slow down and stay alert in the active construction zone near Willard Springs. QCBN

Stacey Wittig, QCBN

Stacey Wittig is a writer based in Munds Park. Besides Quad Cities Business News, you can find her bylines at Forbes Travel, Food Wine Travel Magazine and
UnstoppableStaceyTravel.com.

Photo by Stacey Wittig: SEMA Construction crews work at the Willard Springs Wildlife Overpass project site about 15 miles south of Flagstaff. The project is expected to be completed by fall 2026.