The cost of a half-mile path along the rail line in Santa Rosa has risen by $270,000 because of the need to dispose of more contaminated soil than expected.
When the city originally approved the $867,000 contract for the path from West 8th Street to West College Avenue last year, it estimated that about 30 percent of the soil alongside the tracks was contaminated.
But when the contractor did further testing, it concluded that that 85 percent of the soil from the project would need to be hauled to a class 1 facility, Lori Urbanek, interim supervising engineer, explained to the Santa Rosa City Council Tuesday.
The problem wasn't that estimates were faulty, but that regulations had changed since the project was originally designed, Urbanek said.
The soil in question has been found to have lead, arsenic and chromium, which are common constituents in downtown industrial areas, she said.
Councilman Gary Wysocky asked by the property owner, Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, wasn't footing the bill for disposing of the soil.
"They were asked and they declined," Urbanek said.
The additional money will come from gas tax funds. No general fund money is being used in the project, the cost of which now stands at $1.1 million.
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