Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit is pursuing nearly $45 million in voter-approved bridge toll revenue that survived years of legal challenges.

The agency’s board voted Wednesday to request the Regional Measure 3 funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area planning agency that administers the toll revenue. The vote also commits SMART to comply with a set of policies and procedures required to receive the funding.

About $40 million will go toward the design and construction of SMART’s long-sought rail extension to Healdsburg. Another $4.7 million is for building a path between Hanna Ranch Road and the intersection of Rowland Boulevard at Vintage Way in Novato. The agency also plans to use $224,000 for designing a dropoff site at the Civic Center station in San Rafael.

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, which started passenger service in 2017, runs trains 45 miles between Larkspur and the Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa. The agency’s goal is a 70-mile rail route and pedestrian path to Cloverdale. The Windsor extension, which cost about $75 million, is expected to open in June.

“I know we’re focused on Windsor, it is a great achievement, but we have been working pretty actively going north of there,” said Joanne Parker, grants and legislative affairs manager for SMART.

In 2018, the Regional Measure 3 toll hike plan received 55% voter approval, winning a majority from seven of the nine Bay Area counties. The plan estimated generating $4.45 billion in capital funding for transportation projects throughout the region.

Initially, the expenditure plan included $40 million to support rail extensions to Windsor and Healdsburg. The ballot measure was intended to raise bridge tolls on the seven state-owned bridges in the Bay Area by $3 from 2019 to 2025, but a four-year lawsuit challenging the increase tied up the funding.

The 3-mile extension from Santa Rosa to Windsor got underway in 2020. The project was 30% complete and expected to open by the end of 2021 when work halted because of the litigation.

SMART began seeking other funding options to pursue the project. Then, a 2023 Supreme Court ruling dismissing the suit freed up the funding.

However, that summer, SMART received a $30 million grant from the Senate Bill 1 Solutions for Congested Corridors Program, and a $10 million state grant to advance the Windsor project to completion. The board authorized resuming the construction in November 2023.

That means the $40 million in Regional Measure 3 funding is available to be redirected entirely toward the Healdsburg extension, estimated to be more than $268 million.

Parker said SMART has secured a majority of funding for the project. What remains pending is approval of $81 million in state funding, she said.

Parker said the extension to Healdsburg and to Cloverdale were recently voted to be included in MTC’s Plan Bay Area 2050 strategy, which outlines desired projects throughout the region. Parker said that shows a commitment from regional planners to support the extensions.

Santa Rosa Councilmember Victoria Flemming, a SMART board member, asked what the timeline is.

Parker said staff expect to bring a contract to the board for approval in the fall. The work will be done in two phases. Construction is expected to be completed in 2028.

“Exciting stuff,” Flemming said.

Healdsburg Councilmember Ariel Kelley, a SMART board member, said the city is moving forward with priority development plan that focuses on infill and transit-oriented development.

Kelley asked if SMART staff have contemplated how it will play a role in that process “to keep everything aligned and on the same trajectory.”

“Not only is the planning effort important, but I also think the timing is critically important if we want to deliver the (Healdsburg) station,” Kelley said. “Is this being discussed?”

Eddy Cumins, the general manager of SMART, said staff “definitely want a seat at the table.”

“We’re here, we’re a partner of the city and anticipate being part of the project,” Cumins said.

For the other SMART projects, staff are waiting for approval of a federal grant before proposing a contract award for the Hanna Ranch Road path project, Parker said. If all goes according to plan, the project would be completed by the fall of 2027, she said.

Staff expect to award a design contract for the Civic Center dropoff project in October. Engineering is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, Parker said.

SMART already has received some Regional Measure 3 funding — $2.8 million to construct the bike-pedestrian path project that is opening along with the Windsor station next month.