The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District’s board has awarded a $21.7 million contract for the first stage of the railroad’s extension from Windsor to Healdsburg in northern Sonoma County.
The contract with Stacy and Witbeck/Herzog, A Joint Venture, calls for construction of the nine-mile route to begin in January and be finished by late 2028, SMART said in a news release.
SMART, which began service to the public in 2017, carried more than 1.1 million passengers in fiscal 2025, 32% higher than the previous year and almost 50% above 2019 levels, the district said.
The new project will include a station in Healdsburg and extend the multiuse pathway alongside the rail corridor for hikers and bicyclists.
SMART has secured $269 million in federal, state, regional and local transportation funds. The contract includes options to continue work north of Healdsburg if additional funds are secured.
The rail line is expected to reduce congestion on U.S. Highway 101, increase opportunities for tourism and economic growth, the district said.
“SMART has been steadily working toward completing the northern extensions of our rail system, and this milestone shows how far that commitment has taken us,” said Chris Coursey, the chair of SMART’s Board of Directors, in the ness release.
“We have built real momentum, and moving into construction on the Healdsburg extension brings us another step closer to delivering the full vision of the SMART system for our communities.”
Planning will soon begin to extend service to Geyserville and Cloverdale, the district said.