What Are Those Black Barrels Around The Sacramento Railyards?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — It's catching the eyes of many drivers in downtown Sacramento. Just east of Jiboom Street, dozens of large black barrels are scattered throughout the Sacramento Railyards.

"Oh my goodness, they're all over!" said Mike Otis, who works in Sacramento.

If you've taken a drive through the railyards lately, you might have noticed the barrels. LDK Ventures is the real estate company developing the area. They say they've gotten several calls asking why there are so many barrels along Railyards Boulevard.

"It could be for garbage," Otis said.

But the burning question what's inside?

"Probably could be like bones or something like that," said Roger Jones.

"Since it's so close to downtown, probably some kind of waste," said Andrea Leuschen, who lives in Sacramento.

A spokesperson for LDK Ventures says the barrels are filled with dirt. It's a part of their GeoTech investigation process, in preparation for future development. The company's contractors drill deep holes and pull out soil. They test it to make sure the land is safe and pack the soil in the barrels.

"My concern is that when it's open, it's just going to go into the air," Leuschen said.

But the company insists the Railyards area is safe to build on and testing any land before development is standard procedure.

The spokesperson says the drilling is complete and the barrels shouldn't be there for much longer.