AUSTIN, Texas — Austin is known for its bats, and as the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) continues to do work on roadways throughout the city, it's also doing its part to make sure the city's nocturnal residents have a place to stay.
TxDOT Austin posted a video on social media Wednesday to demonstrate its efforts.
"We have bats on bridges – two bridges: Howard Lane and Wells Branch Parkway. And so, we're going to have to demo those bridges," Tracy White, a biologist for TxDOT, said. "So, what we're trying to do is replace a little bit of habitat so they have some place to live."
White explained that TxDOT has constructed "bat boxes," that will be wedged into the reconstructed Walnut Creek Bridge, to provide a new home for the bats that will be displaced by the demolition of the other bridges.
White said the bat boxes will be there to help bats for years to come.
"The bat boxes can last anywhere from upwards of 10 years, maybe even 20 years," she said.
According to White, Austin's bats are productive community members that deserve to be protected.
"They are a wonderful natural resource. They eat tons of tons, metric tons, of insects annually. They help farmers," White said. "We want a good, functioning ecosystem and we want to take care of our natural resources, which are these bats."