Crews work to shore up hillsides as SMART rail opening nears

A Sonoma-Marin Smart train goes for a test ride in Novato, California, on Wednesday, July 27, 2016. A Sonoma-Marin Smart train goes for a test ride in Novato, California, on Wednesday, July 27, 2016. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / Special To The Chronicle Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Crews work to shore up hillsides as SMART rail opening nears 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

SMART, the North Bay’s startup commuter railroad, has run into another problem — potential landslides above the line that need to be stabilized before the railroad’s opening in late spring.

But that shouldn’t slow things down, officials said.

For the past three weeks, crews have been removing soil and shoring up hillsides above the north portal to the Puerto Suello Hill Tunnel between Marin’s Civic Center and downtown San Rafael. The work, which began after a January slide sent a cascade of rocks and dirt toward the tracks, is expected to be completed by next week.

SMART — Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit — has been beset with delays in the latter stages of construction.

They included the discovery in the fall that the diesel engines in the line’s railcars would need to be replaced. That — in addition to a staffing shortage, several unexpected issues with grade crossings and electrical circuits, and continued testing — pushed the opening from late 2016 to this spring.

This time, the troubles haven’t caused delays. While the slide repair work prevented testing of trains in the San Rafael area, engineers were able to move to the northern section of the route, avoiding delays, said Bill Gamlen, SMART’s chief engineer. He said the wet winter gave SMART a chance to identify trouble spots and fix them before the start of service.

SMART will carry commuters in green-and-gray trains along 43 miles of track between a station near the Sonoma County Airport and the downtown San Rafael transit center.

An extension to Larkspur, near the Golden Gate Ferry terminal, will follow soon after service starts.

The January slide demolished a railroad communications box, Gamlen said, but it also captured the attention of engineers, who spotted saturated and slumping areas of the hillsides that they believed posed a risk in future storms. Train testing in the area was halted.

“When you see unstable soil above you, you stop testing,” said Farhad Mansourian, SMART’s general manager.

Crews have removed 1,500 cubic yards of earth — about 150 large dump-truck loads — at a cost of about $500,000, he said. “It was great to get a real wet winter and flush this stuff out now,” Mansourian said, “rather than when we’re running trains.”

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan