Photo By Renwick Martin | Team members from Sacramento and St. Paul districts discuss the project in front of...... read more read more
From the heart of the Midwest to the banks of the American River, the St. Paul District is making an impact out West. The district’s expertise and commitment drove the completion of the Lower American River Contract 3A in 2025 — a milestone and an important piece of the American River Common Features program.
Since 2019, the St. Paul District has provided technical know-how and engineering support to the Sacramento District, addressing both flood risk reduction and erosion protection requirements. “This project is a great example of structurally-based engineering that incorporates nature-based design,” said Dan Mielke, St. Paul District technical lead. “Our approach not only enhances flood protection but also supports environmental stewardship along the river.”
The Sacramento region is among the most at-risk areas for catastrophic flooding in the United States. C3A includes approximately 2,300 feet of levee improvements along the south bank of the Lower American River near the Business Interstate 80 bridge in Sacramento — an area that nearly failed during the 1986 flood event.
“Contract 3A was one of the most technically and logistically complex reaches within the American River Common Features program, requiring close coordination across multiple agencies and stakeholders while working in a highly constrained urban environment,” said Kevin Lee, Sacramento District project manager.
The project required the placement of more than 50,000 tons of rock, along with erosion control measures, tree protection, revegetation, and the installation of instream woody material to support fish habitat. The team’s efforts included the establishment of native riparian vegetation such as trees, shrubs, grasses, herbaceous perennials and wildflowers like the California poppy.
“It’s exciting to see our work to protect this stretch of levee complete and to see wildflowers growing on the soil-filled rock placed last year,” said Ben Nelson, St. Paul District project manager.On May 5, members of the St. Paul and Sacramento districts, along with non-federal sponsor representatives, inspected the project following its first winter flood season. The site visit focused on revegetation progress and overall project performance, as well as lessons learned from the design and construction phases. “This was a big effort and a lot of ‘deconflicting’ work in the project area because of good relationships between the agencies,” Nelson said.
The success of Contract 3A was made possible through a joint effort by the Sacramento District, St. Paul District, Caltrans, the city of Sacramento, and Union Pacific Railroad. The project stands as a model of interagency collaboration, technical excellence and commitment to both public safety and environmental health in the Sacramento region.
“Seeing the site perform through its first winter season and watching the native vegetation begin to establish reinforces the long-term value of this investment for both flood risk reduction and environmental stewardship in the Sacramento region,” Lee said.
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2026 15:28 |
| Story ID: | 573199 |
| Location: | SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, St. Paul District supports major flood protection on critical part of the Lower American River, by Elizabeth Stoeckmann, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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