After nearly two decades of planning, construction, and litigation, local and state officials cut the ribbon on Stockton’s Smith Canal Gate Project.
The $96 million project , the first of its kind west of the Mississippi, will provide “unprecedented” levels of flood protection to an economically disadvantaged area in central Stockton, according to San Joaquin Area Flood Control Agency officials. Wednesday’s event was held in conjunction with California Flood Preparedness Week, Oct. 19-26.
In 2008, the Federal Emergency Management Agency mapped the neighborhood as high-risk. Five years later, property owners agreed to pay for the gate by a vote of 59% to 41%, The Record previously reported…