Monday night marked the official opening of the long-awaited Sutter Creek “Gateway” project at the corner of old Highway 49 and the 49 bypass in Sutter Creek. A number of officials involved in the project were in attendance, including Sutter Creek city council members, Amador City Mayor Richard Lynch, Caltrans District 10 Director Kome Ajise, Supervisor Louis Boitano and representatives from the Amador County Transportation Commission, or ACTC.

According to ACTC Executive Director Charles Field, the ribbon-cutting ceremony was a modest and informal celebration of the hard work and investment that led to the project’s completion. “All of these projects that involve federal funds can sometimes be very complicated and hard to complete,” said Field. Indeed, Sutter Creek business representatives had first asked for a redesign of the grassy corner lot back in 1994 in order to make the gateway to the town more welcoming.

ACTC was granted money from the federal government and in turn awarded those funds to Sutter Creek and Amador City to create attractive signage that now bookends the 49 bypass. “In the past, a lot of people driving just missed Sutter Creek,” said Field. ACTC, Caltrans, Sutter Creek and Amador City all worked together to manage and implement the project design. So far, feedback over the project design has generally been positive. Field says there is a possibility that the lettering could be changed to a different color so the city titles are more visible from the road, but that is tentative.