1999
Responding to the 1998 flood, officials from Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Santa Clara and San Mateo counties sign an agreement to work together on issues of mutual interest pertaining to the San Francisquito Creek. The San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority is born.
2000 to 2006
The San Francisquito Creek JPA works with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to come up with a plan for a comprehensive flood-control project. Despite years of analysis, the plan doesn't move ahead.
2006
The federal government cancels the Army Corps study, diverts $7 million in funding to the Department of Homeland Security's anti-terrorism efforts.
2012
The San Francisquito Creek overflows its bank, causing flooding on Palo Alto streets.
2013
Water from a storm damages a levee in East Palo Alto, threatening a residential neighborhood. Cities increasingly focus on a more limited flood-control project that does not rely on significant federal contributions.
2016
The creek authority kicks off work on its first major flood-control project, which is centered on the downstream area between the bay and U.S. Highway 101. The project includes building levees, widening the channel and establishing a marsh plane to absorb water on Palo Alto's golf course in the Baylands.
2018
The creek authority completes the downstream project in December, bolstering protection for flood-prone neighborhoods in East Palo Alto and paving the way for other projects in upstream areas to commence.
2019
The San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority approves the environmental impact report for work on the "Reach 2" section, which includes replacement of the Newell and Pope-Chaucer bridges and widening the channel along the creek. The project is intended to protect the areas around the creek from a "70-year flood."
2020
Responding to concerns from neighborhood residents, Palo Alto officials approve a revised design for the new Newell Bridge, reducing it from a four- to a two-lane structure.
August 2022
A California appellate court judge tosses out a lawsuit from Menlo Park resident Peter Joshua, paving the way for the creek authority to move ahead with plans to replace the Pope-Chaucer Bridge.
December 2022
The creek authority and its members prepare for construction of the "Reach 2" projects. Palo Alto, which is spearheading the Newell Road Bridge replacement, expects to launch construction this year and complete it in 2024. After that, the creek authority will start channel-widening work and replacement of the Pope-Chaucer Bridge, a project that it hopes to complete by 2026.
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