Waterford ― The Civic Triangle Park improvement project is proving deadly for some of the turtles that once lived in its pond.

That’s because as the turtles try to cross busy Rope Ferry Road from the wetlands where they were recently relocated, they are being run over by passing cars.

The deaths of the painted, musk and snapping turtles have prompted an effort by town officials to prevent further casualties.

Planning Director Jonathan Mullen said the town has recently discovered dead turtles on the road, but would not estimate how many have been killed so far.

“It’s upsetting to everybody,” he said Thursday afternoon as he stood in the park. “We’re doing what we can to handle the situation as it’s presented to us.”

On Aug. 14, a contractor hired by the town began the process of dredging and draining the pond.

What town officials could not anticipate, was that some of the turtles that had been relocated to the wetlands were then drawn back across the road to the pond. Compounding the problem, is that turtles returning to the pond is greater than the number that were relocated into the wetlands. On Thursday, Mullen said he doesn’t know what’s drawing the turtles back to the pond.

So the town teamed up with Dennis Quinn, who Mullen called one of the best herpetologists in the state, in an effort to save the remaining turtles.

“We worked with a state certified herpetologist who has come up with a plan to accommodate the safety of the wildlife as best we can,“ Mullen said.

Mullen said Quinn could also be seen Wednesday up to his waist in the pond’s muck digging around for turtles.

On Monday, police installed a sign with flashing lights warning eastbound drivers “SLOW WILDLIFE CROSSING.” And on Tuesday, town workers began installing animal diversion fences and hay bales to direct the turtles away from the road.

Work continued on Thursday, when they installed another 300 feet of fencing along the south side of Rope Ferry Road directly across from the pond, and another 100 feet going south along the community center parking lot.

Town employees, meanwhile, are taking shifts every few hours looking to stop turtles from crossing the road.

Animal control officer Robert Yuchniuk has provided kennels to carry the turtles back to the animal control facility, Mullen said. There, the turtles will be housed in bins and a few kiddie pools. So far seven have been saved.

“I think we’ll continue watching out for animal life through the duration of the project,” Mullen said.

While the dredging is slated to be finished by the end of this month, Mullen said he expected the turtles to continue moving after that.