Mayor Kevin Johnson toured the downtown railyards with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Thursday, showing off the site of the future intermodal facility and – if all goes well for Johnson and the Think Big Committee – the site of a new entertainment and sports complex. LaHood stopped in Sacramento on a tour of California to discuss investments being made in job-creating infrastructure projects in Sacramento and around the country, according to a press release Tuesday. LaHood spoke to a crowd of more than 50, discussing the importance of high-speed rail in California, as well as job potential from the future intermodal facility. “This facility is what I believe is a national mode

The City Council approved $400,000 in funding from new sources Tuesday for upgrades to the Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility project, including energy-efficient lighting and new power cabinets that will help reduce air emissions at the new facility. The project is being built at the downtown railyards and is currently in the first phase of development. City officials say Phase 1 should be completed by mid-summer 2012. The project is planned to accommodate rail freight movement, heavy passenger trains, light rail transit and intercity and local buses, according to a city staff report. It will also provide facilities for bicycle and pedestrian transportation modes and – potenti

Conceptual plans were revealed to the public Monday night for the intermodal transportation facility and the entertainment and sports complex proposed for the Railyards site. Think Big Sacramento committee members presented the proposal to about 100 community members. The town hall meeting was hosted by City Councilman Rob Fong and the discussion was led by Assistant City Manager John Dangberg. Attendees had mixed responses to the proposed facility, some questioning the economic viability and some expressing support. Dangberg emphasized that the project would be an economic driver for the region. Fong, whose district the Railyards is in, said the plans are still in the early stages but

Ending more than three years of dispute, a court arbitrator determined Wednesday the city overpaid developer Thomas Enterprises by more than $2.5 million for railyards land next to the historic train depot. The land is at the center of current discussions to build a new arena and regional transit center adjacent to downtown. Arbitrator William Bettinelli, a retired Sonoma judge, set the value of nearly 33 acres of land at $52.35 million, the city manager's office and the developer announced in a joint press release late Wednesday afternoon. In 2006, the city paid Thomas Enterprises $55 million for the parcel after the developer bought the 244-acre former railyards site from Union Pacifi

Helping to save $20 million in local federal stimulus money, the state of California on Thursday ponied up $31 million in Prop. 1B funding for projects connected to Sacramento's future regional transportation center. The Sacramento Area Council of Governments and the city of Sacramento told the California Transportation Commission this week that the city would lose the federal stimulus funds unless the agency paid out the Prop. 1B money as promised, said Erik Johnson, SACOG spokesman. The bulk of the $31 million will be used for a $60 million railroad track relocation, the first phase of the train station and public transit center being built in the 244-acre historic railyards adjacent t

The city of Sacramento is about to ask the state of California to make good on its promise to award at least $20 million for railroad track relocation so work can start by May. Unable to sell as many bonds as expected, the state has not disbursed $20 million in trade corridor funds that was awarded last year under state Proposition 1B. Next week, the city will ask the California Transportation Commission to borrow $25 million against the bond money, said Linda Tucker, spokesperson for the city's Department of Transportation. "We've got to get this going," she said Friday, when the city announced it had met a Dec. 1 deadline for another $20 million in federal stimulus funding. The city a