Public money well spent: Linking Sutter’s Landing and the American River | Opinion
Like any good thing in a hard world, I hesitate to share my secret hideaway with the greater public. But the magic of Sutter’s Landing and the American River Parkway is hardly a secret to any true Sacramentan. And now, Sacramento’s access to the river has been connected to the greater area with the help of a multi-million dollar Caltrans project that is finally nearing completion.
After four years of construction and millions of taxpayer dollars, the connection from Sutter’s Landing to the wider American River Parkway is finally reopened to the public. The American River Bridge Expansion Project is nearing completion, and the new bike and pedestrian trail will lead across the river by June, with the final phases of construction finished by the end of this year.
Many of us have driven the stretch of construction on Interstate 80 between downtown and Cal Expo in the last few years and been inconvenienced by the traffic, without really knowing what was going on.
Enter the parkway at Sutter’s Landing, and walk along the gravel path eastward. After about a mile, you’ll pass under the Union Pacific railroad bridge, built in 1940. A few hundred feet more, and you’re under the Cap City bridge, more than 70 years old. The deafening white noise of rushing cars overhead dies down as soon as you pass through, and to your left, the long ramp of the new trail connector comes easily into view.
From there, it’s a stunning vantage point of the river in all its beauty, the new highway bridge, Cal Expo to the north and the homes of East Sacramento to the south. Walk a little further to the east, and you’ll wind up at Glenn Hall Park, or go even further to the Sacramento State campus and beyond.
The construction work is part of the $239.5 million American River Bridge Rehabilitation Project, which rebuilds the bridge deck, installs sheet piles around the river piers for reinforcement and adds a new bike path that will connect to the existing American River bike path and the Discovery Park bike trail.
“The project seems to be a little bit ahead of schedule, since they were able to accomplish a lot of things before weather came into the area,” said Sergio Ochoa Sánchez, a public information officer for Caltrans.
The project also included relocating the existing sound wall further east, providing lighting for the bike path, widening the bridge to accommodate traffic during construction and constructing a new median barrier between lanes.
“The whole deck bridge has been rehabilitated, everything was removed,” Ochoa Sánchez said. “The old concrete that was there was completely removed, all the supports, all the foundations of the bridge were fixed. It’s going to be a very nice project, once it’s completed.”
A shared backyard
My dog, Juno, and I visit Sutter’s Landing two to three times every week to splash in the river and walk along the top of the levee. The regional park is a 163-acre emerald jewel in the heart of the city, tucked away behind the neighborhoods of downtown Sacramento, Midtown and East Sacramento, with easy access to the river by car, bike or on foot.
Since moving back home to Sacramento in 2021, I’ve spent countless hours walking through the trees and along the trails that wind like loose spaghetti through the woods. Sutter’s Landing is one of the few access points Sacramentans have to our rivers, even though the city is bordered by rivers to the north and west.
Sutter’s Landing is one of the main entrance points to the 31.5-mile American River Parkway, and was so named because it was the landing point for Capt. John Sutter in August 1839, when he came up the river from Yerba Buena to build his eponymous fort.
According to the volunteer group, Friends of Sutter’s Landing, the parkway enjoys more than 8 million visitor days per year. I can believe it.
In the summer, loud music plays from speakers on various picnic blankets, people spread out on the beaches and children splash in the water on hot days. In the spring, wildflowers bloom on the grassy hills, and giant cottonwoods drop white clouds of fuzz into the river. In the winter, ferocious windstorms can topple even the mightiest of trees; the water is glassy, wide and quiet. Always, the swell and size of the American River change dramatically with each season.
Walking the trails, I’ve seen sea lions pop their sleek heads out of the water as they hunt for salmon. The hawks and falcons have undoubtedly watched me from perches high in the trees. I’ve listened to packs of coyotes howl at dusk, and the slap of beaver tails as they drag sticks away to their den.
I’ve seen stunning sunsets from my favorite perch in the exposed roots of a tree along the riverbank. Sometimes they’re soft with candy pinks and blues, sometimes they’re flaming, casting vibrant oranges and reds on the sky as the sun sinks behind the dark outline of downtown Sacramento’s iconic buildings, and a passing train blows its horn in the distance.
Rain or shine, Juno and I can be found most evenings at Sutter’s Landing. It is truly a special place for us. And with the right care, it can remain a special place for all Sacramentans, for many years to come.
