SMART preps for Marin County R-O-W work

Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) has approved a $68.7 million construction contract for design and construction of right-of-way in Marin County, Calif., to commence next year.

The contract, approved Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2013, is “the last contract” to be approved for the initial 38.5-mile segment of the line, spanning across SMART’s two namesake counties north of San Francisco, according to SMART General Manager Farhad Mansourian.

Oakland, Calif.-based Shimmick Construction Inc. will oversee design and construction of track from Civic Center Drive to the downtown station site in San Rafael, strengthening of the Puerto Suello Tunnel in San Rafael, and the building of a traffic control system in downtown San Rafael, according to local media.

The contract also includes replacement of the existing Haystack Bridge over the Petaluma River and see the construction of seven segments of a pedestrian and bicycle pathway in Marin and Sonoma. Station platform work also will be completed in the two counties.

Last September SMART announced the Federal Transit Administration accepted the San Rafael-to-Larkspur segment into the Project Development phase of FTA’s “Small Starts” funding program, making it eligible for federal funding.

Trackwork in Sonoma County for the first phase is nearly complete. SMART eventually seeks a 70-mile line linking Larkspur and Cloverdale, Calif., as shown on the map at left.

SMART hopes to begin revenue operations in 2016, with 18 diesel multiple-unit (DMU) cars, being built by Sumitomo Corp. of America and partner Nippon Sharyo, providing service.