The Wildlife Bridge Over the 101 Opens December 2. Here's How Conejo Valley Residents Can Actually Be Part of It

"There would be no trails or public access." That line comes from the official FAQ for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. It explains a lot about the structure rising over the 101 at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills. The FAQ says the decision came from public input. During planning, the community strongly backed a design that gave wildlife every chance at safe passage, and that meant keeping people off.

That support was overwhelming. During environmental review, the draft document drew 8,859 comments, and only 15 opposed the project. On December 2, 2026, the bridge opens "for the animal world." People will connect with it from the trails nearby, from a tent in Calabasas, and from a native plant table at Conejo Creek North Park this Saturday.

What "Open" Actually Means on December 2

The crossing is finishing in stages. Caltrans split the work into two parts. Stage 1, the span over the 101, began in mid-2022 and was completed in June 2025. Stage 2 covers the section over Agoura Road, plus utilities, earthwork and habitat restoration, and is scheduled to finish in 2026.

The original target was 2025. The project FAQ says record rain and flooding hit the site two springs in a row, and crews had to wait for the ground to dry out after big storms. The same FAQ says some planting and finishing work will keep going after the December opening. So December 2 marks when animals can start using the bridge. The landscape on top will still be filling in.

What Changes on the 101

Drivers won't notice much. The project FAQ says no full freeway closures are expected. There may be a few overnight closures in one direction at a time between midnight and 5 a.m., with traffic detoured onto Agoura Road. Most heavy construction has happened at night.

Agoura Road has seen the most disruption. A Caltrans District 7 notice from July 2026 set weekday daytime closures there through September 1, 2026, with detours onto the 101 between Chesebro and Liberty Canyon roads. For hikers, that matters more than it sounds. When Agoura Road is closed, the trailhead parking on the south side of the crossing is closed too. The north-side trailhead generally stays open, but it may close at times for safety during construction work. Caltrans District 7 and the City of Agoura Hills post closure announcements on their social media feeds.

Who the Bridge Is For

The crossing reconnects two halves of the habitat around the Conejo Valley. Caltrans describes it as linking the Santa Monica Mountains south of the 101 with the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains to the north, restoring a key connection toward the Sierra Madre Range.

Caltrans names mountain lions, bobcats, gray foxes, coyotes and mule deer among the animals the freeway blocks. The project FAQ adds birds, lizards, butterflies and frogs to the wildlife expected to use or benefit from the habitat. The FAQ is most direct about the lions. It says freeway fragmentation limits their movement and their genetic exchange, and it names inbreeding and low genetic diversity as major risks to the Santa Monica Mountains population.

For many people, the face of the project is P-22. He was the Griffith Park mountain lion who crossed two busy freeways to get there and became the campaign's public symbol before he died in December 2022. He never used this crossing. He's the reason so many people have heard of it.

The design follows from this list of animals. A bridge built so a mountain lion will cross it can't double as a viewing deck. The FAQ says the crossing will be visible from recreation trails in the area, and a viewing platform will be built for better views. No opening date for the platform has been announced.

The Part That Keeps Growing

The plants on top are the slowest part of the build. The project has its own native plant nursery, which has collected more than 1.1 million seeds from over 50 local plant varieties. The Conejo Valley Guide reports about 5,000 plants for the bridge itself and about 50,000 plants and trees across the 13-acre project area.

Official sources describe the area a little differently. The governor's office cites 12 acres of open space and 50,000 native plants. The project FAQ describes nearly an acre of vegetation on the bridge and more than ten acres of restored coastal sage scrub and oak savanna. Under every version, the same point holds. The bridge is the visible piece of a much larger replanting job.

Funding figures also depend on the source. Caltrans' project page still lists about $92 million. The campaign's FAQ gives a later estimate of $114 million for Caltrans project costs and notes that final contractor figures for parts of Stage 2 were still pending. The campaign reports raising more than $100 million from more than 6,000 donors, including $26 million from Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation. In February 2026, the state announced an $18.8 million allocation from its Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program.

Looking ahead, the Wildlife Crossing Fund, started in 2023 with Wallis Annenberg's help, will support habitat stewardship on and around the bridge. That includes the native plant nursery, education and outreach programs, and long-term wildlife research in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Where to Be Part of It This Fall

The bridge is closed to people, so taking part happens around it. These are the confirmed options, in date order.

1. Native Plantpalooza & Eco Fest, Saturday, October 10, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Conejo Open Space Foundation is holding its fifth annual event at the Lakeside Pavilion area of Conejo Creek North Park, 1379 E. Janss Road, behind the Thousand Oaks Library. It's free. More than 35 exhibitors include native plant vendors, beekeepers, wildlife rehab specialists and herpetologists. The National Wildlife Federation returns as an exhibitor representing the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, and the Ojai Raptor Center joins for the first time. Details are on the Conejo Open Space Foundation's site.
2. The trails, any day. The National Park Service lists Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyon as a nearby area for hiking, biking and horseback riding. The main trailhead is at 5792 Chesebro Road in Agoura, and parking is open from 8 a.m. to sunset. The trails nearest the crossing are the official way to see it, and access depends on the closures described above.
3. Ribbon-cutting festival, Wednesday, December 2, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The public celebration is at King Gillette Ranch, 26800 Mulholland Highway, Calabasas. The ceremony on the crossing itself will be shown live on a large screen, and there's a virtual display where guests can cut their own ribbon. Tickets are required, with a $10 donation for ages 13 and up and $5 for children 12 and under. Proceeds benefit the National Wildlife Federation's #SaveLACougars campaign through savelacougars.org/ribbon-cutting. The ceremony will also stream online for anyone who can't get to Calabasas on a weekday.

One option isn't available right now. The project's free docent tours, which showed the work in progress from a distance, are on hiatus while the reservation system is updated. Organizers have also said they plan a media update on the project this fall, but no date or location had been posted as of early October.

Order matters here. Plantpalooza comes first, eight weeks before the bridge opens. It's in Thousand Oaks, it's free, and it's the closest the Conejo Valley gets this fall to talking with the people behind the crossing in person.

Rick Pena was born and raised in Ventura County, and he's watched the open space around the Conejo Valley shape how people use their weekends here. If you're weighing which Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village or Newbury Park neighborhoods sit closest to trails like Cheeseboro, or you'd just like to compare notes after the December 2 ribbon-cutting, Rick Pena is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.