American Canyon marks start of big Green Island Road overhaul

AMERICAN CANYON — American Canyon’s big plan for a $15 million remake of Green Island Road is starting in earnest with a utility undergrounding project as an initial phase.

When everything is done in a couple of years, this busy lifeline to the city’s industrial area will have a whole new look. Crumbling pavement will be smooth. A center turning lane and bicycle path for the Napa Valley Vine Trail will be added.

That’s a long shot from what’s there today.

“This was a two-lane country road built over 50 years ago,” Mayor Leon Garcia said. “It was for a few farmers down at the end of the road and over the hill.”

Rural-looking Green Island Road is crumbling under the constant pounding from big trucks headed to huge warehouses. Garcia said the road pavement rating is a 12 on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being best.

“Basically, this road is going to have to be replaced and built up to sustain the type of heavy traffic that we have,” Garcia said.

Thursday morning, the city held a ceremony to kick of the construction phase of the project — finally.

“This project has been underway for about nine years so far,” City Manager Jason Holley said. “The design, acquisition and permitting process has taken that long because of how complicated and how important it is.”

Speakers used a microphone, which was essential, given the noise on adjacent Green Island Road from a steady stream of trucks.

“This isn’t staged,” Rep. Mike Thompson said as truck after truck passed by. “This is every day. And this clearly shows the impact that this traffic has on area.”

St. Francis Electric LLC is to underground the utilities this year, removing about a mile of poles to make room for the road widening. Work on widening is to begin in 2024 and last about 18 months.

“If you ever drive down this road, it is the heart of the industrial area, but it also is in very, very bad shape,” American Canyon Chamber of Commerce CEO Valerie Zizak-Morais said. “You have to go slow. You have to avoid the holes that are in the road.”

The businesses are paying a tax to the city of American Canyon to help with the project. Zizak-Morais said businesses ask her when the money is going to be spent.

“So here it is,” she said. “It’s coming.”

Plans go beyond putting some new pavement on this narrow road. Green Island Road is to be widened to accommodate that center turn lane and bike path. In addition, Hanna Drive, Mezzetta Court and Jim Oswalt Way are to be reconstructed.

Altogether, about two miles of roadway will be made brand-new. A portion of the bike and pedestrian path will serve the regional Vine Trail, which then heads north on Devlin Road toward the city of Napa.

Among the funding sources is a 979-acre industrial area special taxing district and federal money from the American Rescue Plan Act. Partners on the project include PG&E, AT&T and Comcast.

Some preparation work was done in 2020 at two railroad crossings along Green Island Road. That included boring under them for utilities, replacing rails and improving signals.

From this point on, the dirt should be flying.

“The project that the mayor explained is going to be good for public safety, it’s going to be good for the community, it’s going to be good for the economy,” said Thompson, D-St. Helena.