Railroad Track Relocation

This project will relocate and realign about 2.3 miles of Union Pacific railroad track to make room for an expanded Sacramento Valley Station, which will be turned into an intermodal hub that will handle Amtrak and Capitol Corridor service as well as light rail and bus services. (Click here to enlarge photo)

Granite Construction Inc. was awarded $41 million last March for the track relocation project, which includes major utility infrastructure and site improvements, construction of multiple access tunnels for pedestrians and service vehicles as well as new passenger tracks and platforms.

The project is being paid for by 12 funding sources, including $26 million in federal stimulus funding, state bond funding and funding from Amtrak, the federal Department of Transportation and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments

The track relocation project is estimated to be completed by December 2012.

Retrofit of Sacramento Valley Station

This Tuesday the 13^th, the City Council will approve plans for the structural retrofit of the Sacramento  Valley Station. Diede Construction, Inc. will be awarded the contract for $8,869,000. An additional $50,000 will be added to the total from AMTRAK to demolish several communications tower as part of the Sacramento Valley Station Structural Retrofit job. The project will be paid for with Measure A Funds, Historic Places Fund, Federal Transit Administration Grant Funds, California Transportation Commission, and State Public Transportation Account Grant Funds.

Structural Retrofit involves completion of structural upgrades, improvements in facility accessibility and completion of life-safety work necessary to protect the public and seismically stabilize the building.

The approval of this project will support 254 jobs in the City of Sacramento based upon the model provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of one new job for every $35,000 of transportation project investment. Structural Retrofit work is planned to begin in fall 2011 with completion by Spring 2013.

Federal Funds Secured for Station Retrofit

The Sacramento Valley Station has locked in $10.4 million by the California Transportation Commission to structurally retrofit the depot with work expected to begin this summer. The $11 million project will have the remaining about due to paid for by federal funds, making up the difference.

The project calls for reinforcing the building to meet seismic standards as well as needed upgrades to meet modern accessibility standards. The city already has completed a structural investigation and engineering.

According to the Sacramento Business Journal; the Sacramento Valley Station is being turned into an intermodal hub that will handle Amtrak and Capitol Corridor service as well as light rail and bus services. The retrofit project is just the beginning of the larger project to create a hub for transportation.

City officials are seeking another $20 million federal allocation to put utilities and plumbing on the second and third floors of the depot to convert those to Class A office space. It’s all part of Phase II of the intermodal station project.

Phase I, the track relocation, took a major step forward at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Granite Construction was awarded a $41.5 million contract at for the related track relocation project..

Work on the retrofit project is expected to begin this summer and wrap up by the fall of 2013.

Track Relocation & Depot Retrofit

Today the City Council will approve additional funding for several sub-projects that are part of the Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility (SITF or Intermodal) family of projects. These projects include Track Relocation (Intermodal Phase 1), Improvements to the Sacramento Valley Station (Intermodal Phase 2), and the Depot Retrofit Project. These additional funds will be for design and construction to the historic Depot and Intermodal site that provide upgrades and new development to enhance this area as a transportation center and retail, commercial, cultural and civic destination.

Track Relocation (Intermodal Phase 1) - is the top priority transportation project in the region. In 2010, bids came in above available funds. Since then the project has been redesigned and reissued for bid. In March 2011, the City will award the construction contract in order to maintain funding.

Intermodal Phase 2 - After Track Relocation, improvements to the existing station are planned to enable the station to function better. Phase 2 will incorporate components such as a transitway and circulation, site and parking improvements, passenger amenities and refurbishing of the Depot to foster greater use of the building. Built in the 1920’s, the existing Depot station requires seismic strengthening and structural upgrades to meet current building standards. This project will provide these structural improvements and will also provide accessibility and fire-life safety improvements. This project is currently in design and is planned to be under construction in spring 2011.

Track Relocation (Phase 1 estimated cost $56,169,000), improvements to the existing Sacramento Valley Station, which includes the current Southern Pacific Railroad Depot (Phase 2 estimated cost $21.9 million), and eventual transformation of the Station into a multimodal transportation center (future Phase 3 estimated cost $261.9 million).

Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility Event and Art Center

Thomas Enterprises, Inc. has a proposal of a Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility (“SITF”) that would make our city proud. To be located just behind the RR Depot after the tracks are moved north, this would be a $500 project that would have key design aspects including visual references to the history of the project site and its significance as the western terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad. Similar architectural design elements would be integrated into the complex like the existing historic Depot, REA building, and Central Shops Historic District. The Arts Center along with the elevated Pedestrian Bridge will serve to link the historic districts and downtown Sacramento as a unique, historic, point of destination with a clear sense of purpose and place for visitors and residents. A parking structure for 1,200 parking spaces would be attached to the SITF building with the intent to distribute parking for the Event Center within a 15 minute stroll, using downtown’s existing 12,000 public and private spaces within that radius.



Their financing strategy includes a public-private partnership (“PPP”) comprised of the City of Sacramento, Thomas together with other partners. The PPP will include the operators of the Community Event Center and the Community Art Center as well as other developers and public entities. It is anticipated that the Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility including the Events Center and Arts Center, will be publicly owned. The land to build the SITF is already owned as a PPP and does not require any acquisition costs or significant infrastructure costs.

Sacramento Intermodel Transportation Facility

The proposed Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility (SITF) is planned to be developed in three phases and would include the a realignment of existing rail tracks (Phase 1 estimated cost $56,169,000), improvements to the existing Sacramento Valley Station, which includes the current Southern Pacific Railroad Depot (Phase 2 estimated cost $21.9 million), and eventual transformation of the Station into a multimodal transportation center (future Phase 3 estimated cost $261.9 million).

The proposed project site consists of 33 acres, including the existing Station that’s owned by the City and the Cities in the process of acquiring additional land immediately north of the Station for the proposed project. The area to be acquired also contains the approximately 3,300-foot-long UPRR rail corridor (current alignment and proposed realignment) between the Sacramento River and 7th Street.

Phase 1 would be constructed and fully operational in 2010. Phase 2 would start construction in the first quarter of 2011, after the completion of Phase 1, and would be completed in approximately 3 years. The timing of Phase 3 is uncertain and depends on the build alternative selected and availability of funding.

There are two alternatives in building the new terminal building to accommodate projected providers and passengers for the new facility. Alternative 1 is to not move the depot or alternative 2 is to move the depot 300 feet to the north next to the realigned tracks. Moving the Depot would ensure that it would become the anchor for the new Depot District and would generally shorten the connections between passenger modes.

The project has just completed a National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Assessment evaluation and is open to public comment till May 15, 2009. A public informational meeting will be held on April 22, 2009.