A badly built bridge in Sacramento that's been barricaded and off-limits to the public for more than a year now has an opening date in sight.

"In a matter of weeks, sometime this fall, we're going to reopen the bridge," Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said on Thursday. 

McCarty said the city's bad bridge that crosses Interstate 5 in the Land Park neighborhood has now been demolished, and a new one is being built in its place.

"This is a big deal to people who are joggers, cyclists, who walk around here with strollers," he said.

Last September, CBS Sacramento uncovered a city inspection report showing the Del Rio Trail bridge was improperly built and the city ordered the contractor, Mountain Methods Incorporated, to tear it down.

"We found that the bridge was constructed with faulty concrete. We worked it out through the legal process with the contractor, had them at their own dime tear out the concrete, redo the bridge at zero costs to taxpayers," McCarty said.

So what's being done to make sure this new bridge will be safe?

"The concrete and steel was taken out with the faulty construction and they're rebuilding it now. It took a year, but better to be safe than sorry," McCarty said. 

The City of Sacramento spent $23 million building the five-mile-long Del Rio Trail, which turned an old railroad right-of-way into a new paved path.

It officially opened in May 2024, but the bridge has remained closed off to the public all this time.

Now, city leaders say once the new bridge is built, it will become a key crossing that links miles of dedicated bike and pedestrian paths throughout the city limits.

"It was a great idea turning this abandoned rail spur into an active transportation route," McCarty said. "This will connect the Del Rio Trail to the Sacramento River Parkway and this is the future of Sacramento connectivity."

City documents show Mountain Methods was the lowest bidder on the project, with a $12.1 million bid. That was nearly $2 million below the next lowest bid.

A majority of the funding for the Del Rio Trail comes from state and federal grants.