By mid-April, the city of Sacramento and Thomas Enterprises Inc. plan to award $60 million in contracts for relocation of railroad tracks and construction of three bridges in the Sacramento Railyards.

Photo: The Railyards

The 244-acre infill project is moving ahead with help from a $20 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant.

�We would not have been able to move forward on this without the stimulus,� says Elias Rashmawi, director of land redevelopment at the Railyards. �The track relocation unlocks all of the other work on the project.�

�We are looking forward to breaking ground in mid-May on one of the largest public works projects in the state and certainly one of the largest in the city�s history,� says Mayor Kevin Johnson.

The individual contracts that are now out to bid include an estimated $6.2 million cast-in-place, prestressed box girder bridge overhead on seat abutments on Fifth Street and two similar bridges on Sixth Street for $5.4 million. A $30 million Fifth Street bridge viaduct and roadway contract could follow in June and a $12 million I-5 interchange in August.

The $43-million track relocation project that paves the way for the rest of the development includes building new railroad tracks 500-ft north of the current location, passenger platforms and three tunnels. This work will clear the way for a new depot and the bridges will make a path for development in the interior of the project. The project could break ground in summer and take 19 months to complete. It is expected to produce up to 3,000 jobs.

A related construction management contract that could be awarded by the end of March drew record attendance at information meetings and bids from seven teams with a combination of local and national companies represented, according to Rashmawi.

Last month, the city and Thomas Enterprises awarded a roadwork contract to Sacramento-based Teichert for $125,000. It was estimated at $200,000. �The economy has helped us attract more competition for bids,� Rashmawi says.

For more information about the Railyards bids, go to http://www.cityofsacramento.org/generalservices/procurement/bids/.