If you have ever slammed the brakes because a deer, boar, or stray dog suddenly appeared in your headlights, you already understand the problem. Roads slice through habitat, and animals do not read warning signs.

India is now testing a different kind of fix on National Highway 45 in Madhya Pradesh. It is a short stretch, but it is packed with design choices that try to protect both drivers and wildlife, using bright red road surfacing, fencing, and 25 dedicated animal underpasses.

A “red road” built for a wildlife corridor

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has rolled out what it calls India’s first “table top red marking” on a highway. The work sits on an 11.96-kilometer (about 7.4-mile) project section on NH 45 that passes through the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

At the heart of the idea is a 5-millimeter (about 0.2 -inch) hot-applied thermoplastic red surface layer placed across a 2.0-kilometer (about 1.2-mile) danger zone. Officials say the bright red color and the slightly raised feel are meant to alert drivers and “naturally” bring speeds down without harsh braking.

The unglamorous part that matters most

Red paint alone does not stop a collision if an animal can still step onto the road. That is why NHAI paired the markings with 25 dedicated animal underpasses placed along the 7.4-mile corridor at identified movement locations.

The press release also describes continuous chain-link fencing along both sides of the highway, designed to prevent animals from entering the roadway and to guide them toward the underpasses.