The Abridged version:
- The new Del Rio Bike Trail opened Tuesday after an 18-month delay that was fueled by construction issues.
- An investigation by Abridged previously found that rejected concrete from the same company contributed to delays on both the Del Rio Bike Trail bridge and Caltrans’ repair of Highway 50.
- A senior engineer said the city of Sacramento began investigating concrete on the bike trail bridge after hearing about issues on Highway 50.
Over two dozen cyclists plus a crowd of elected leaders and Sacramento city staff members gathered Tuesday morning to officially open the new Del Rio Bike Trail bridge in Land Park.
The bridge’s opening arrived more than 18 months after its estimated arrival. The original construction of the bridge did not meet design and safety specifications, according to the city of Sacramento. The city rejected the work and called on contractors to remove and rebuild the bridge in July.
An investigation by Abridged found that rejected concrete contributed to the delays that plagued the Del Rio bridge. The same concrete supply company that delivered the rejected Del Rio bridge concrete, Elite Ready Mix, also supplied the mix that led to the rejection of bridge components on Highway 50, Abridged found.
The Del Rio bridge is a key connector in Sacramento’s system of green belts. Adam Randolph, senior engineer with the city of Sacramento, described the bridge as the “final piece” connecting the 4.8-mile Del Rio Bike Trail to the Sacramento River Bike Trail.
“I just want to thank the public, the patient and the impatient. I know it’s been a challenge,” Randolph said at the press conference. “I want you to trust me that I am just as happy as you are that we’re done.”
Bike bridge investigation began after Highway 50 issues
City staff began investigating possible issues with the Del Rio bridge after hearing from Caltrans that similar issues were occurring on Highway 50. Caltrans’ large-scale repair and highway widening project, Fix 50, was underway the same year the Del Rio Bridge was under construction.
“When things started going amiss on the Caltrans project, we heard about that and it led us to do our own investigations,” Randolph told Abridged.
Randolph declined to identify other projects or locations that may have been affected by rejected concrete.
“I don’t think I can go into all of that right now,” Randolph said. “That’s a supplier that does a lot of work in the area,” Randolph continued. “We’re not aware of any other major issues caused by that within the city, but it’s a hard thing to tell.”
Abridged previously reported that lab test results on the bridge’s concrete “suspected” that a substitution had been made in the concrete, according to emails between city employees and engineers contracted by the city. Issues about the bridge’s strength were first reported by Inside Sacramento.
Between April and August 2023, Elite Ready Mix substituted fly ash for natural pozzolan in its concrete mixes due to supply chain pressures, according to public records. Public records also note that Caltrans rejected four months of concrete supplied by Elite Ready Mix for the Highway 50 project during the same time period.
“I think the processes did their job, as frustrating as they were. … Ultimately everything was found,” Randolph said, referring to the concrete on the Del Rio bridge.
Randolph added that the city went through an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the strength issues on the bridge.
“It’s as safe as it needs to be, it’s going to last a lifetime now, and I just want everyone to be able to enjoy it,” Randolph said in his press conference remarks.
‘Good things come to those who wait’
Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty hailed the opening of the bridge, which was originally slated to open before his term as mayor.
“Well, it took a little bit of time, but here we are,” McCarty said at the press conference. “Good things come to those who wait.”
McCarty acknowledged that the delay happened due to construction issues.
“One of our contractors didn’t quite get it right. … I know they were much maligned but our city staff saw that, kind of acknowledged it, called our city attorneys and said, ‘How do we make these people fix the bridge that they didn’t install correctly?'”
McCarty declined further comment on the cause of the delays or whether the city is planning further legal action against the contractors involved with the construction of the bridge.
Councilmember Rick Jennings said that he had never seen anything like the delays and construction issues experienced on the Del Rio bridge during his 12-year tenure on the City Council. Jennings’ District 7 includes the bridge.
When asked if anything should be done to prevent future issues, Jennings replied:
“We’ll work harder. … We realized there’s an avenue for something like this to happen that could hurt our ability to provide a safe environment for our people.”
He added that he was happy that the bridge was able to be fixed at no expense to the taxpayer. The cost of the rebuilding the bridge was covered by lead contractor Mountain Methods Inc.
The bridge is largely complete, with the exception of a few pieces of construction equipment that remain on the site. Scaffolding underneath the bridge will likely be removed in about a week, according to Randolph.
Felicia Alvarez is a reporter at Abridged covering accountability. She’s called Sacramento home since 2015 and has reported on government, health care and breaking news topics for both local and national news outlets.