EUGENE (AP) — We fear they’ll fly in our hair. They are known to carry rabies. Count Dracula is the most famous and perhaps scariest of them all.

But while they scare so many of us, will the statewide Interstate 5 bridge project scare the bats away?

During pre-demolition inspections, colonies of the rare Townsend’s big-eared bats found throughout western North America were discovered in both the northbound and southbound bridges that span the McKenzie River north of Eugene. The state is replacing two old bridges at the site.

The bats are now hibernating elsewhere, escaping the bottoms of the bridge’s unpredictable temperatures and unstable humidity during Oregon’s colder months.

The bats have clung to the rough texture of the older bridges’ bottom surface. And they’ve used the older bridge’s hollow beams for roosting, said Jyll Smith, a bridge specialist with the state Department of Transportation.

But the new bridges don’t have those features so a team of transportation and wildlife officials are working on a project to try to bring the bats back.

In order to create cavernous space for the bats, concrete panels were laid into the I-beams at the bottom of the bridges, said Art Martin, state transportation coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Then, plywood or concrete baffles with gaps large enough for the bats were added.

The team has also designed bat boxes for the new bridges and Hamilton Construction of Springfield, lead contractor for the I-5 bridge project, is paying for them, Smith said.

There will be at least four bat boxes hung beneath each bridge, Martin said.

Smith said the transportation department will monitor the boxes to determine the number and types of bats using them.

If the boxes are successful, similar structures could be placed beneath other bridges around the state.

The project may be the best chance for luring the bats back, but everyone will have to wait until the spring to know the results, said Martin.

Martin Nugent, a program manager with the state’s fish and wildlife, said it’s likely the bats will return because bridges are key locations for them to rest and breed.