New Gateway Monument in Gold-Rush Era Town to Welcome Visitors & Celebrate Local Culture

Clean California Project Includes Silhouettes Featuring Railroad, Logging, Western, Fishing, and Recreation

Tuolumne County – A gateway monument along State Route 49 in the historic gold-rush town of Columbia, and metal silhouettes erected along State Route 108 in Sonora will highlight a new Clean California Beautification effort.

Caltrans will break ground on the $917,000 project in late January. Monument designs and silhouettes were developed after community outreach with local officials and enthusiasts.

This beautification project is made possible by Governor Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative – a sweeping, $1.2 billion, multiyear clean-up effort led by Caltrans to remove trash, create thousands of jobs, and join with communities throughout the state to reclaim, transform, and beautify public spaces.

Caltrans partnered with officials from Tuolumne County, the City of Sonora, the Vision Sonora Committee, and the town of Columbia to create legacy elements that swell community spirit, instill a positive sense of place, and celebrate the region’s unique history, tribal influence, local industry, and recreation benefits.

This project pays tribute to a region that has contributed significantly to the rich cultures of Northern and Central California,” said Caltrans District 10 Director Grace Magsayo. “In the spirit and vision of Clean California, our collective effort with local partners will create lasting beauty and benefit for all Californians to enjoy.”

After consulting with local stakeholders, the following designs and locations were chosen:

• SR-49 at Parrots Ferry Road: A gateway monument with two 3-foot by 20-foot rustic brown metal “COLUMBIA” signs on the northeast corner of this three-way intersection. The signs will be adorned with locally sourced boulders from the town.
• SR-108 at Crooked Lane: Black and brown Me-Wuk Trible pattern silhouettes on the fence of the overcrossing.
• SR-108 at Washington St.: Railtown-themed silhouettes of a locomotive and stagecoach on the fence of the Lime Spur Railroad Underpass.
• SR-108 at Wards Ferry: A logging and ranching theme with silhouettes including a cowboy and a lumberjack on the fence of the westbound side of the overpass and an outdoor recreation theme with silhouettes including rafters and a fisherman on the eastbound side.

Calaveras Customs (Angels Camp) will make the Columbia Gateway monument, Maker Metals (Sonora) will fabricate the metal silhouettes, and John Semsen Landscaping Co. Inc. (Sonora) will install them.

Work on this project is scheduled to begin in the last week of January with completion expected in May.

The installations requiring lane closures will be performed at night to limit the impact on traffic.

Overnight, one-way traffic control will be conducted on SR-108 between Crooked Lane and Wards Ferry Road, Sundays through Thursdays from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. Daytime work on State Route 49 at Parrots Ferry Road will require shoulder closures only from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Local street closures will occur at the times listed above.

Clean California has funded 319 projects statewide to revitalize and beautify underserved communities. Projects are improving public spaces, tribal lands, parks, neighborhoods, transit centers, walking paths, streets, roadsides, recreation fields, community gathering spots, and places of cultural importance or historical interest in underserved communities.

Since July 2021, Caltrans and its local partners have picked up more than 2.8 million cubic yards of litter – enough to cover nine lanes of Interstate 5 with trash from the Mexican border to Oregon. Caltrans also hosted more than 600 free dump days in communities throughout the state – resulting in the collection of 14,000-plus mattresses and 52,000 tires. The initiative has enlisted more than 60,000 community clean-up volunteers and created thousands of jobs, including positions for individuals who were formerly incarcerated, on probation, or experiencing housing insecurity.