The main roadblocks to opening a wetlands hiking trail in American Canyon have been removed — but an opening date has yet to be set.

The American Canyon City Council voted unanimously this week to approve an agreement with the Napa Vallejo Waste Management Authority to open to the general public the existing trail around the unused landfill site off Wetlands Edge Road. The authority ratified the agreement Thursday on a 3-0 vote. The landfill closed in the 1990s.

The agreement took months to be finalized in part because property line adjustments had to be figured out. The authority also wanted assurances the trail would be closed to the general public in emergencies, Trent Cave, the authority’s general manager, said Thursday.

Barry Christian, who belongs to the American Canyon Open Space Advisory Committee and Friends of the River, raised the idea of opening the loop in 2004. The idea lingered until two years ago when a survey of the landfill property concluded that a building was constructed on city property. That led the city to start new negotiations with the authority, culminating with the exchange of lands agreed upon this week.

Segments of the loop trail are owned by the city while others belong to the waste authority — a consortium made up of representatives of the cities of Napa, American Canyon, Vallejo and Napa County.

Also on Tuesday, city leaders approved an agreement with the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District, the agency that will build a section of fencing around the closed landfill. This week’s agreement allows the park and open space district to use state grant money to build the fence and other required improvements before the loop can be opened to the public — possibly in 2010.

The district is expected to ratify the agreements with the city of American Canyon on Monday.

Mayor Leon Garcia, a member of the Napa Valley Waste Management Authority, welcomed the agreements. So did Myrna Abramowicz, the Napa County Regional and Open Space District member who represents American Canyon. Abramowicz serves as vice president of the board of directors.

City Councilwoman Joan Bennett, who said the idea to have a trail to the river was first discussed years ago, praised everyone who worked on the project.

“It’s just been incredible … the time and effort,” said Bennett, who has walked the existing service road around the closed landfill. “It’s just a beautiful place to walk,” she added.

Randy Davis, American Canyon’s parks and recreation director, said that the trail will open sometime in 2010 barring any unforeseen problems.

John Woodbury, general director of the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District, plans to use a portion of a $1.1 million state grant to improve the trail, to build a fence around a section of the closed landfill, an outlook and other improvements. The fence alone will cost an estimated $70,000, Woodbury said.