Sacramento’s I Street bridge in limbo as Caltrans balks and costs soar | Opinion
What’s going on with the I Street Bridge replacement project?
Without a peep of Sacramento City Council discussion, the 80-day window to accept or reject construction bids has come and gone. The bids came in about 50% over estimates, causing a mad scramble to find about $140 million that continues to this day.
What started as a needed infrastructure project is now shrouded in mystery. How is cash-strapped Sacramento going to finish one of the most important transportation projects in this region?
“Stay tuned,” said Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty in a recent interview. “We’re working with state and federal and city and West Sac officials to make this a reality.”
These words were vintage McCarty. In his 18 months as mayor, McCarty has demonstrated a knack for message discipline, rarely going off script and always swimming in a lane of optimism and hope.
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” he said, reflecting the delicate Sacramento dance of seeking government funding without upsetting government funders of projects.
What’s smart politics, however, makes for lousy transparency. The public in Sacramento and West Sacramento, the communities that would be linked by an I Street bridge replacement, would be justified in being confused about where this vital project stands.
What’s clear is that this cost overrun has caused the bridge project to jump off the proverbial tracks. Is the course correction going to be merely a matter of weeks and months, or do we have a huge financial problem on our hands thanks to an unlucky series of events?
Formally in the planning stages for 15 years and contemplated for many years longer, the new vehicular and pedestrian bridge would be constructed north of the existing span, connecting directly to The Railyards that are finally on the verge of a long-awaited renaissance. The existing structure, with two Union Pacific Railroad tracks on the lower level, would continue to be used for the train traffic. But for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists, a new and wider span would explode mobility between the two river cities.
The project was proceeding with considerable fanfare, with an official target to start work this year. For McCarty and West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero, this was to be that ground-breaking ceremony that had escaped many mayors preceding them.
And then Sacramento opened the bids.
The budget, including loans to fill a gap in funding and cash flow, assumed that construction would cost $260 million. The lowest bid, from Concord-based Dragados Flatiron Constructors, came in at $399 million.
And then Sacramento City Hall fell into a stony silence.
Normally, city procedures call to accept or reject bids within 60 days. These bids, said city spokesperson Gabby Miller, were valid for 80 days, until June 28.
Yet in its last meeting before a three-week summer recess, the City Council on Tuesday didn’t discuss the bridge bids. Why?
“The City is not obliged to take any action on the bids at this time,” Miller said Tuesday. “Contractors have said they’d guarantee their bids for 80 days, but there’s nothing saying they could not honor them in the future past the expiration date.”
There’s no mystery in identifying a source that can cover an infrastructure project of this size. It’s the biggest funder of the I Street project by far, the California Department of Transportation.
Traditionally for replacement projects like this as part of its Highway Bridge Program, Caltrans will pay close to 90% of the cost of the full project with a combination of state and federal funds. For this project, however, Caltrans shorted Sacramento with less money - $250 million out of total costs originally estimated at up to $320 million. And the department vowed not to pay a penny more should costs rise.
If Caltrans wouldn’t embark on one of its own projects because costs went over budget, it would have gone out of business by now. Shorting Sacramento but spending freely on its own projects feels like there is a huge double standard being perpetrated by Caltrans.
Yes, Sacramento got the cost of this project wrong due to good old-fashioned human error. But the city has plenty of company. This bridge is 115 years old. It wasn’t like this replacement project snuck up on Caltrans.
Rocklin Rep. Kevin Kiley, running for re-election as an independent in the 6th Congressional District, has gotten into the act, offering to help find federal funds, and he has an impressive record of delivering.
But traditional state and federal sources require applications, paperwork and many months of waiting with no up-front guarantee. Sacramento, the official lead on this project, is holding out hope that the expired low bid would later be honored. That’s some wishful thinking, but at this point, that’s all we got.
This bridge project needs to happen, and soon. Caltrans is set up to be the primary hero or goat. If this complex project can be built for $400 million in this day and age, all things considered, that’s a good deal.