Construction blunders mount on Sacramento's Del Rio Trail as pavement fails
CBS News Sacramento has uncovered another blunder on Sacramento's Del Rio Trail. Construction defects are now forcing crews to remove pavement along a path that is less than two years old.
It's another setback for the troubled trail. City leaders celebrated the grand opening of the paved bike and pedestrian path in May 2024. Now, just 16 months later, contractors are grinding down sections of the new asphalt and starting over.
"This was a fiscal nightmare that didn't have to happen," said Kristina Rogers, a neighbor of the Del Rio Trail.
Trail users say they spotted cracks shortly after the trail opened.
"There was crumbling and cracked asphalt all along the sides," Rogers said. "You see long cracks in the middle of the trail."
The City of Sacramento confirms that a section of the pavement is failing, and engineers say the underlying soil is to blame.
"Obviously, they've had some settling that occurred and wasn't either properly compacted or they didn't get it quite right," said Jeremiah Rohr, with Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates.
An 1,800-foot section of the trail between Sutterville Road and Riverside Boulevard is now closed off while crews fix the damage.
Last September, CBS News Sacramento first reported that a city inspection found the Del Rio Trail Bridge that crosses Interstate 5 was improperly built with lightweight concrete and rebar.
The city ordered the contractor, Mountain Methods, Inc., to tear it down, which is currently in progress.
"Somebody obviously had their eye off the ball on some of these things, and that is concerning," Rohr said.
The defective paved trail was also built by Mountain Methods, which was the lowest bidder on the $12 million contract. The city says they are legally responsible for paying to fix the problems.
"We're really hoping for some resolution so we can move forward with this trail and people can enjoy it like they're supposed to," Rogers said.
The city says the pavement replacement work is scheduled to last through October 10, and the bridge is supposed to open to the public by the end of the year.