Newest Part Of Flood Management Plan Taking Shape In McKinley Village

EAST SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A new housing development is also the home of a new plan to manage flooding.

An intricate and detailed display of lights greets you as you enter McKinley Village under the railroad levee, but a more important milestone is another layer of Sacramento's flood control.

Giant gates patch a hole to secure the City of Sacramento from potential flooding.

"It's part of the city's overall flood protection system," said Phil Angelides, the president of the investment company developing McKinley Village. "If we do have any kind of flood problem, the series of flood gates throughout the city will help slow any flood waters."

The 12-ton gates are 23 feet wide and 13 feet tall.

"The  flood gates in the city provide secondary protection for a number of neighborhoods," he said.

The American River levee protects the north side of the development. It has never broken, but if it does, that would put the new homes in McKinley Village underwater.

"We're all protected by the river levees," he said.

The south side of the development is lined by the railroad levee, where the road was cut through the hill. The gates installed protect the rest of East Sacramento from a potential flood.

"This is a big undertaking. This whole project is about a $190 million project," he said.

People eventually living in the 330 home community will only have two access points, which is why people living on the other side of the railroad levee have long said traffic is their main concern.

Angelides sees things differently.

"The more people we can get into the urban core, the more people can walk and bike to work and have access to transit. That's better for traffic," he said.

As finishing touches are placed on the gates, homes continue to be built.

"Over the next 10, 20 years, we  hope that this is going to be known as one of the special neighborhoods of Sacramento," he said.

Angelides says that 42 homes have sold so far. Thats a pace of about 15 a month and residents are already starting to move in.