A Spokane high school student wins a college scholarship in a contest focused on Interstate 90 wildlife crossings, east of Snoqualmie Pass.

Brydon Eakins, a senior at University High School tied for the top prize with a Seattle student, with both receiving a $1,000 scholarship from the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition.

Juniors and seniors from across the state submitted creative scholarship entries. Students were asked to provide concepts that tackle the same problem Washington State Department of Transportation engineers are solving: Building a wildlife crossing over I-90. The crossing had to be similar to the structure scheduled to be built in 2015 near the Price Noble Creek Sno-Park and temporary rest area. The wildlife crossing is part of the second phase of the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East project.

Entries were whittled down to the top five and given to a panel of transportation and I-90 project experts to judge.
Eakins submitted a computer design that focused on an environmentally-friendly crossing while Thomas’ 3-D model focused on safety for wildlife and drivers.