SMART Awards $190 Million Contract for Healdsburg Extension, Seeks Input on New Station
The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit Board of Directors approved a $190.5 million contract on Wednesday to begin building nearly five miles of track from Windsor to Healdsburg.
The contract is an important milestone for the agency, which seeks to ultimately expand its network from its current terminus in Windsor through Healdsburg and further north to the towns of Geyserville and Cloverdale, said Julia Gonzalez, spokesperson for SMART.
“ This creates construction jobs, it strengthens our regional economy, and it’s building a transportation infrastructure that is going to benefit generations to come,” Gonzalez said.
The Board awarded the contract to the joint venture Stacy and Witbeck/Herzog, after the California Transportation Commission last week allocated $162 million in state grants for the extension. Other funding comes from federal, local and regional sources, and construction is expected to begin in spring 2027.
The contract includes refurbishing and restoring the derelict segment of track between the two towns, and adding modern technology, concrete railroad ties and a train control system, Gonzalez said.
Under the contract, Stacy and Witbeck/Herzog will also procure and fabricate two large steel railroad bridges — a truss-style bridge over the Russian River on the way into Healdsburg and a girder-style bridge over Old Redwood Highway.
The bridges will accommodate bike and pedestrian traffic as well, adding to SMART’s network of multi-use paths.
The agency is currently collecting public feedback on where exactly the Healdsburg station should be located. SMART is presenting the public with two options: a downtown location or the historic depot area near Front Street.
The agency will collect feedback through November 30, after which the SMART Board of Directors is expected to vote on the station’s final location in December.
Gonzalez said Healdsburg has not seen rail service for 70 years, and that the agency is “proud” to be restoring it.
SMART hit an all-time record of more than 1.1 million passengers in fiscal year 2025, a 32% increase from the year prior. The agency expects rail service to begin in Healdsburg by late 2028, with an estimated project completion cost of $269 million.