(Video: WCCO, CITY OF BLOOMINGTON, CNN via CNN Newsource) —

A Minnesota city is taking steps to protect its local turtle population by constructing a new tunnel under a busy road.

Bloomington, Minnesota, which is around 10 miles south of Minneapolis, has expanded a storm drain to create a turtle-friendly passage, allowing the reptiles to cross safely without the risk of being hit by vehicles.

The area near the Richardson Nature Center was identified in a Minnesota Zoo study as a hotspot for turtle fatalities, with hundreds of turtles struck by cars each year.

"With the wetlands on both sides, just having bodies of water nearby each other, that's going to be the most common place for turtles to move back and forth," Jack Distel, a water resource specialist, told WCCO .

The new tunnel

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