Western toads have disappeared from a Davis pond, despite a $14,000 tunnel built to protect them.

Back in 1995, work crews in Davis started construction on a Pole Line Road overcrossing to take traffic over I-80. Among the items earmarked as part of the $7 million price tag of the project: an amphibian-saving toad tunnel.

The $14,000 tunnel was built to help the migrating Western toad move from its hibernation habitat east of the road to its breeding ground west of the road.

The toad tunnel made national headlines, becoming the butt of jokes on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."