I Street Bridge replacement faces delay as bids come in $100 million over budget

Construction was planned to start this summer on a replacement for the century-old I Street bridge, which connects West Sacramento to Downtown. But now officials say it will face a major delay, as the bids it received earlier this month were much higher than expected.

The city has been planning to construct the bridge for over a decade. Plans to were anticipated to cost around $300 million, but when the bids came in, the lowest proposal was still $100 million over the estimate. According to city bid documents, proposals ranged from about $398 million to over $500 million.

The gap is large enough that city leaders say they can’t move forward with any of the proposals on the table. City officials have, for now, pushed the construction start date back to at least 2027 without approving any contract.

Sacramento City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum said he’s concerned the project could become impossible if it has to wait any longer. He said material costs have only become more expensive over the years and will continue to rise. 

“We twisted every state and federal arm we could,” Pluckebaum said. “I don't have any reason to be hopeful about any additional funds. So, it's really a question of do we think that those prices will come down?”

Pluckebaum said city funding would collapse if it took on any of the current bids. He said even if they removed design and build costs for the bridge's artistic look, it would still be way over budget.  

“Steel and concrete costs [have] gone up exponentially in these past few couple months, really. Labor costs are never insignificant. Those three things together have just driven these project estimates way up.”

Meanwhile, West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero said she is still calling for more federal funding to close the gap. She’s in Washington, D.C., this week talking to Congressional leaders about the project. 

“[We’re] just reminding them we've put in a request [for federal dollars],” Guerrero said. “Now you see how the cost has increased and why this funding is critical. We are looking to this [federal] funding source to fill the gap.”

The new bridge would be further up the river from the original and be better equipped to carry larger vehicles like buses and be safer for pedestrians. Under the current plan, the old bridge’s upper deck would be converted into a dedicated pedestrian and bicycle crossing, a project being led by West Sacramento. City officials there said funding is already in place for that portion of the work.

“We do have all the funding in place for the I Street bridge deck conversion,” Guerrero said. “So we’re going to convert the upper deck of the historic railroad bridge from a motor vehicle [path] to a dedicated bikeway and walkway.”

The existing bridge, built in 1911, has narrow lanes and limited space for pedestrians and cyclists. It wasn't designed to accommodate modern transit and large vehicles like buses.

Guerrero said delays could make the situation even more difficult, as construction costs continue to rise and the project could be pushed further than 2027. 

“The longer we wait the higher the cost will be,” she said. “We got to get something moving and it’s hard to tell which funding source can bridge the gap.”