The flood control project that has transformed downtown Napa is everything that’s out of favor in today’s spiteful political scene. It is complex and nuanced, forged by people from across the ideological spectrum working together. It combines old-school engineering with a far-sighted focus on environmental needs.

But here’s the crucial detail. It works, improving the local landscape and economy in ways no traditional solution could have achieved.

That success is relevant far beyond Napa’s boundaries, amid the attacks this year on California’s efforts to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles via high-speed rail, or the creed in Washington that environmental considerations are bad for business. For all the inevitable hurdles and sniping along the way, the projects that deliver the most benefits often are the ones that dare to imagine a future different than the past.

When this rainy season’s biggest storms hit the Bay Area in January, Napa’s year-old Oxbow bypass was put to the test. It passed with flying colors.

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