SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Guy West Bridge at California State University-Sacramento will close temporarily July 18, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District begins construction on a levee improvement project.

Pedestrian and bicycle traffic will be detoured around the construction area during the five-week closure.

Authorized by the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1996, the levees at the Guy West Bridge are among the last remaining sites to be upgraded under the Corps’ and Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency’s American River Common Features Project. Between 2000 and 2002, more than 20 miles of cutoff walls, designed to stop seepage, were built into American River levees. Areas where construction was complicated by utilities, bridges or power lines were set aside for later construction.

“We’re going back and fixing gaps in the levee system that were not addressed in earlier construction due to the complexity of the issues presented at this stretch,” Corps project manager John Hoge said.

The project will install cutoff walls more than 70 feet deep into two, 450-feet stretches of American River levees, reducing the risk of flood waters seeping through or under them.

Construction will continue seven days a week through the five weeks of the project. The closure was scheduled to avoid disrupting the annual Eppie’s Great Race triathlon and the start of CSUS’s fall semester.

“Construction is slated to begin July 18, the day after the annual Eppie’s Great Race. It will continue concurrently at both sites and should be completed by August 24, about a week before the fall semester begins,” Hoge said.

Traffic signage indicating detours for bicyclists and pedestrians have been posted. North-to-south traffic on the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail will not be affected during the closure. Those wishing to cross the American River from the trail will need to use the Fair Oaks Boulevard/H Street Bridge, the Howe Avenue Bridge or the Watt Avenue Bridge. Traffic on the south bank will be detoured from the levee crown trail onto State University Drive East via a temporary ramp. Pedestrians will be diverted to the sidewalks next to the University campus or to designated CSUS pedestrian areas.