SMART seeks to advance Larkspur extension amid uncertainty over federal support

Operators of the North Bay’s planned passenger rail line are moving quickly to shore up funding for a crucial link to the Larkspur ferry terminal amid President Donald Trump’s call to slash federal transportation funding, including for regional public transit systems.

Trump’s preliminary budget for 2018 seeks to restrict approved project funding for a federal transportation program that was set to deliver $20 million to the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit Authority to design and build the 2.1-mile rail line extension from downtown San Rafael to Larkspur. The total cost for the project is estimated at $48 million.

SMART has nearly completed the four-year process of securing the federal grant money. But the payout still requires the signature of U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, a Trump appointee. The question now is to what degree the president’s budget priorities might impact SMART’s needs.

“Whether or not his (Trump’s) proposal that came out early in the administration is going to stick, we don’t know,” said Randy Rentschler, legislative director for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. “But if it does stick, we have a serious problem.”

A spokeswoman for the Federal Transportation Administration did not respond Friday to a message seeking comment.

Connecting rail passengers to regional transportation hubs is a critical component of the North Bay rail project, which currently is scheduled to begin passenger service in late spring along a 43-mile segment from near Sonoma County’s airport in north Santa Rosa to downtown San Rafael.

Other officials said they believe SMART will still receive federal money for the Larkspur project, which was included in the 2016 federal budget under former President Barack Obama. The work entails rebuilding the entire rail line along the 2.1-mile stretch, including a challenging at-grade crossing at Andersen Drive in San Rafael and two creek crossings.

“I would be very surprised if there were any last-minute problems,” Congressman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said Friday from the nation’s capital.

SMART and its regional transit partners are moving expeditiously to line up funding for the Larkspur link and to present a unified front. As part of that effort, MTC commissioners this week unanimously approved $13.3 million in regional toll money for the Larkspur project.

The allocation was expected. But Jake Mackenzie, chairman of the MTC Commission and Rohnert Park’s mayor, said the agenda item was “very deliberately” advanced to an earlier date because of the mood in Washington.

“In this instance, it seemed particularly important to us to make sure MTC’s commitment was loud and clear,” said Mackenzie, who also serves on the SMART board of directors.

Concerns about Trump’s intentions were raised when the Federal Transit Administration took action in February to withhold $647 million for a project to electrify Caltrain lines between San Francisco and San Jose.

The federal agency stated in a letter to Caltrain that it needed “additional time to complete review of this significant commitment of federal resources,” and that a final decision would await the release of Trump’s budget for 2018.

The Caltrain grant is from the same federal program that was set to deliver SMART money for the Larkspur extension. But some observers point out key differences as well.

The decision to delay funds for Caltrain was made after California Republicans in Congress asked the Trump administration to block the funds in an effort to halt the state’s high-speed rail project. Opponents of that project contend it would benefit by electrifying Caltrain’s line.

There has been no similar targeting of SMART over the planned Larkspur link, according to Farhad Mansourian, SMART’s general manager, who made the case that concerns over the Larkspur funding are being overblown.

“We’re proceeding as normal,” Mansourian said Friday. “We haven’t seen any indications from any side that this project is on anyone’s hit list.”

Huffman agreed with that view.

“There is no congressional opposition to the SMART train, and no nexus whatsoever to high speed rail. These are two very different situations,” Huffman said.

Trump’s proposal to eliminate federal funding for regional transit projects and instead place more of that responsibility on local agencies is part of his plan to slash 13 percent in transportation spending overall. As a candidate, Trump promised to spend $1 trillion on the nation’s infrastructure needs.

While things in Washington get sorted out, SMART is pressing forward with the Larkspur extension. The rail agency is reviewing construction bids, with current plans calling for the work to begin later this year and conclude in late 2018.

SMART’s other sources of funding for the Larkspur extension include a $3 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration, $6.1 million in federal congestion mitigation and clean air improvement monies and other federal funds.

SMART also has proposed using a $3.2 million federal earmark for temporary changes to the San Rafael Transit Center to mitigate the impact of train operations.

The rail agency is limited to spending only what it has on hand, according to an MTC staff report, which also described delivery of the $20 million federal grant as “somewhat more uncertain” in light of Trump’s budget proposal.

Should the money not come through, SMART would face a spending gap in the Larkspur project equal to that grant amount, MTC staff reported.

Mansourian declined to say what SMART’s options would be without the grant money.

“I won’t get into a ‘what-if,’ because it’s not there,” he said.

But Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt, a SMART director, said without the federal money, the rail line would have to stop in San Rafael, at least for the foreseeable future.

“What else are you going to say?” Rabbitt said.

You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 707-521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.