California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and U.S Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) developed the Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage (Big Notch) Project with the goal to maximize the number of juvenile Chinook salmon migrating into the Yolo Bypass and provide adequate adult fish passage for sturgeons and salmonids to the Sacramento River.
 
Construction was completed in 2025. The Big Notch Project was built into the Fremont Weir to create a passage for juvenile and adult Chinook salmon to migrate between the Sacramento River and the Delta. The total project includes the Gated Headworks, Constructed Channels, and a Pedestrian Bridge that can be used by the public. The Gated Headworks has three gates. A bladder expands and contracts to open and close the gates based on the elevation of the Sacramento River. 
 
The Big Notch Project operates from November 1 through March 15. Sonar cameras are installed to record the different fish that pass through Big Notch Project.

Steven Garcia is a Senior Engineer with the California Department of Water Resources and has over 15 years' experience working on California habitat enhancement projects. Currently, Steven works on fish passage and habitat restoration projects, and operation and maintenance of the Yolo Bypass Fish Facilities, including Big Notch. In the fall of 2008, Steven started at DWR as a student and worked on the San Joaquin River Restoration as part of a team that surveyed the riverbed and assisted with research for a bed mobility study.  From 2011 through 2019, Steven worked in Delta Ecosystem Enhancement on planning, design, and construction management of mitigation and enhancement projects for Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta habitats. Most recently, Steven worked with the Salton Sea Restoration Office where he was the project manager for vegetation enhancement projects implemented for suppressing dust from the exposed lake-bed of the sea. Steven received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from CSU Fresno.

Elizabeth (Liz) Vasquez (MESM) is an Environmental Manager for Department of Water Resources. Liz manages a program that operates and develops Yolo Bypass Fish Facilities for DWR's State Water Project Division of Science and Engineering. For the last four years, she focused on the construction and operation of Yolo Bypass Fish Passage and Habitat Restoration Project, more affectionately known as the "Big Notch Project." Over the last 20 years, she applied her Master's degree in Environmental Science and Management from UC Santa Barbara to various water and fish restoration projects, including Klamath Dam Removal and San Joaquin River Restoration.