What’s the construction at the American River near the H Street Bridge in Sacramento?

It seems as though there’s always construction work in and around Sacramento, including the shores of the American River.

A reader asked The Bee: “Who is responsible for all the work being done on the banks of the American River above and below the Fair Oaks Blvd/H Street bridge and why are they doing that? [T]hey have removed all the vegetation that protected the levee. ”

Here’s what we know:

Who’s responsible?

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working with the California Central Valley Flood Protection Board, California Department of Water Resources and the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency to make improvements along the lower American River.

What’s the project?

The project is called Lower American River Erosion Protection, and work on the site began earlier this year.

The construction crew is focusing on strengthening parts of the riverbank to prevent erosion, which, according to a Army Corps 2021 news release, can compromise the levee foundation and result in failure.

Both the Sacramento and American Rivers have large watersheds, the Army Corps stated in the release. This results in a high risk of runoff, which has previously overloaded the flood management system that was put in place decades ago before modern methods were implemented.

“Sections of the American River are confined by levees and the energy of the water flow tends to erode riverbanks and levees overtime,“ the Army Corps stated.

What parts of the riverbank are they working on?

There are multiple construction sites.

Protection work is being done on the southwest bank of the American River, from the H Street Bridge to Glenn Hall Park, and northeast bank of the American River near Howe Avenue to Campus Commons Golf Course.

Traffic and detour information will be announced, but residents can expect temporary bike trail closures and limited access to the levee during construction.

How long will levee construction take?

The project began in January 2022 with preparation work, including removing encroachments, cutting trees and moving vegetation.

A November update said in-water work is complete on the site upstream from the bridge. In the next month, “rock slope protection and removal of temporary construction roads will be completed” and final environmental features— or willow poles — will be installed on the construction site on the other side.

Construction started in the summer. According to the release, the site near the H Street Bridge is projected to be complete this fall. By spring of 2023, the Army Corps plans to revegetate the levee and start mitigation planting.

This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 8:51 AM.