Heavy snowfall in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains has forced the state’s elk population to seek refuge at lower elevations.

It’s not uncommon to see large herds hanging out in the snow-covered golf courses of Park City, but the snow is apparently too deep there as well.

In need of sustainable food sources, the elk have traveled down I-80, and are residing close to the Salt Lake City limits.

This has caused issues for motorists over the last couple of weeks.

The video below shows a big elk herd crossing I-80 yesterday morning. The road was closed to allow them to safely cross.

Again, it’s fairly uncommon that elk venture this far out of the mountains, but locals are seeing it as a reason to build more wildlife bridges to allow the animals to safely cross the highway without interrupting traffic.

UDOT constructed a $5 million wildlife bridge over I-80 in Parley’s Canyon a few years ago.

 

Could we see more in the future?

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