SMART marks first crossing on new Petaluma River bridge

A Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit rail car crossed the Petaluma River for the first time Wednesday over a recently installed bridge, another major milestone in bringing passenger train service to the North Bay.

With train officials and SMART board member Jake Mackenzie looking over his shoulder, engineer Matt Shiffrar piloted the sleek two-car train toward the bridge near the Highway 101 overpass at Lakeville Highway. Once on the span, Shiffrar laid on the horn as cheers erupted from the cabin.

Later, Mackenzie called the bridge “an elegant solution to a longstanding problem.” The refurbished 30-year-old drawbridge was installed in August to replace the former Haystack Bridge, used to carry rail traffic over the river since 1904.

Mackenzie predicted “hundreds of thousands” of train passengers will make the same journey in the future.

Wednesday’s crossing kicks off a new phase of the rail project, one that will be more visible to the public as rail cars move up and down the first completed sections of the planned 42-mile route, from downtown San Rafael to near the Sonoma County Airport.

Next week, work will begin on building platforms and installing ticket machines at rail stations, starting at the San Rafael site.

Engineers will be conducting high-speed tests of the rail cars on a section of track north of the Redwood Landfill in Novato, ahead of what is expected to be a full test run of the passenger line starting next summer. The 80-ton commuter trains are set to reach top speeds of 79 mph outside of cities, and SMART officials said the service is still on track to make its debut to the public late next year.

The Petaluma River bridge replacement was one of the largest single infrastructure projects for SMART in its bid to overhaul more than 42 miles of railroad in Sonoma and Marin counties. The $4.2 million replacement span, after being dismantled in Galveston, Tex., was brought by rail to the Bay Area and mostly re-assembled at Mare Island.

“No bridge, no train,” said John Riley, who oversaw the project for SMART.

Farhad Mansourian, the rail authority’s general manager, said board members initially thought train planners were “crazy” for wanting to replace the existing Haystack Bridge with another one brought in from halfway across the country.

Known as a bascule drawbridge, it uses a counterweight to lift the “leaf,” or rail bed, into an almost vertical position. The drawbridge will open or close in about 110 seconds and reach about 157 feet into the air when fully raised. SMART trains will cross the bridge at a speed of about 50 mph.

“Today is a big deal,” Mansourian said while riding on the rail car. He said SMART’s board showed “confidence in us to get the project done, whatever it takes.”

SMART is planning to operate seven two-car units along the route. The slope-nosed cars, called Diesel Multiple Units, run in pairs, with the ability to have a third car added in between to increase capacity. Each car has 79 seats, with standing room available for about 80 people. The cars also feature space for bicycles, Wi-Fi service and, in some cases, snack and beverage bars.

Operation of the rail cars along the track is drawing public scrutiny. SMART on Wednesday responded to concerns posted on Facebook from a woman who claimed she witnessed a near-collision involving the rail cars, hours before the bridge crossing.

The woman wrote that she was looking out of her office window when she saw the train stop within a “couple of feet” of a car crossing at the River Road intersection. She wrote that the safety gates at the intersection were up at the time.

SMART, alerted to the posting, investigated and determined that no emergency stop had taken place. The agency posted its findings on its Facebook page.

Matt Stevens, a spokesman for SMART, said the signal system at River Road was off-line Wednesday because it is still being tested. He said flaggers were present to control traffic while the rail car moved through the intersection.

“There was no incident,” he said. He said the woman who posted the concerns did not see the flaggers.

Stevens acknowledged that the rail agency likely will field similar concerns in the future now that the train cars are operational.

“We’re all in a learning curve and I anticipate that as people become more accustomed to seeing the train, and accustomed to safely navigating train intersections, we’ll see fewer of these (concerns),” he said.

While SMART remains on track to debut service next year, funding for a planned link from downtown San Rafael to the Larkspur ferry terminal still is in doubt. A congressional feud over a federal road and highway spending bill threatens $20 million the rail agency is seeking for the project.

Mansourian on Wednesday remained confident the funding will be approved.

“In the unlikely event we don’t get the funding this year, there’s always next year,” he said. “But I feel confident we’ll be in good shape.”

You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.