Rialto approves a $3.1M Sycamore Avenue sewer line, about $2.4M under the original estimate

IECN: The Rialto City Council approved the $3.1 million Sycamore Avenue Sewer Trunk Line Project on May 12, swapping an aging 8-inch main for a 15-inch line between Walnut and Heather streets to carry wastewater from residential growth in the city's north end.

Ferreira Construction won the work as lowest bidder at about $3.09 million, well under the roughly $5.5 million the city's engineers first estimated. City Manager Tanya Williams said the original number was set during peak post-pandemic inflation, and that contractor and material availability have since pulled costs down — the scope and design didn't change.

It's the second of three phases under the Rialto Utility Authority's sewer program; the Baseline Road line wrapped in 2024 and an Acacia Avenue extension is next. Veolia-run Rialto Water Services administers the build, funded from Wastewater Enterprise Fund reserves. Work near Morgan Elementary is timed to summer break, with substantial completion targeted for late September.