Sacramento levee project completed along American River Parkway Trail

Published Nov. 14, 2011

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District has finished a levee improvement project along the American River Parkway Trail near the California State University-Sacramento campus.

Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the $2.2 million project installed a seepage cutoff wall in a 162-foot-long stretch of levee at the west end of Northrop Avenue. Cutoff walls strengthen levees and help prevent water from leaking through or under them.

The Corps built more than 20 miles of cutoff walls into American River levees between 2000 and 2002. Areas where construction was complicated by bridges, power lines or utilities were set aside for later construction. The Corps has improved 15 of those 30 areas so far, and expects to complete construction at three more by the end of 2012. Construction at the Northrop Avenue stretch was complicated by a pressurized sewer main running through the levee.

“Levee systems are only as strong as their weakest link. That’s why closing these gaps is so important,” said project manager John Hoge. “Combined with ongoing improvements to Folsom Dam and completed levee projects downstream of the dam, we are continuing to reduce flood risk for Sacramento.”

Pedestrian and bicycle traffic detours around the construction area, from the Campus Commons golf course to about Ethan Way, have been removed. Similar detours will be required next spring when construction begins on another levee improvement site in the area.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District provides planning, engineering, project management, environmental restoration and construction services to military and civilian customers in parts of eight western states, including California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Wyoming.


Contact
Todd Plain
916-557-5123
todd.plain@usace.army.mil

Release no. 11-032