Sacramento considers $1.2 million plan to repair aging hollow sidewalks downtown
Parts of Downtown Sacramento have sidewalks that are 150 years old, and next week, city leaders will consider spending more than $1 million to help restore them.
As people stroll downtown, many don't realize they are not on solid ground. Some older sidewalks are hollow and date back to the mid-1800s when the city's surface level was elevated to prevent flooding.
"We just built a new ground floor above the existing ground floor, and in between, there's still a void," City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum said.
Look closely, and you can still see signs of the old days.
Along the east side of 9th Street between J and L streets, metal doors once led to elevators that allowed merchants to store goods underground. Squares embedded in parts of the concrete are made of transparent quartz and allow sunlight to shine into basement areas.
Parts of the old brick archways are still visible along K Street and public underground tours are offered in Old Sacramento.
"You're in a bit of a time capsule when you go down there," Pluckebaum said. "It is a pretty cool space."
Pluckebaum said some of the old sidewalks are now at risk of crumbling and that the City of Sacramento is considering a new $1.2 million program to make repairs.
"This is an opportunity for the city to shore up some of those spaces and make sure that there are no structural weaknesses," he said.
Previous repairs were the responsibility of property owners and had led to some uneven patchwork.
The city says efforts will be made to preserve the historical context of the sidewalks while making it safer for pedestrians.
"We're just trying to stay ahead of the maintenance curve and get these things before they become a catastrophe," Pluckebaum said.
The money will go towards engineering and construction of the sidewalk repairs and comes from the city's gas tax.