A petition drive in support of a BART extension to Livermore is gaining steam -- if a new committee to investigate the matter can be considered progress.

BART board director Zoyd Luce is urging the board to create a "BART to Livermore" committee to explore ways to pay for the estimated $1 billion link between the Dublin-Pleasanton station and Livermore.

The move comes after more than 1,000 people signed a petition urging BART to build the link before expanding south toward San Jose.

Livermore BART advocate Linda Jeffery Sailors said Tri-Valley residents have been paying taxes for more than 40 years yet no money is available for the extension. Livermore should get an extension before the Silicon Valley, she said.

"It's time to look at this again," she said.

Luce is hoping Tri-Valley elected officials and residents will join the committee to help find ways to come up with the roughly $1 billion.

If past experience holds true, a Livermore extension seems to be years, if not decades, away.

Antioch board member Joel Keller said Thursday that he recalls East Contra Costa County residents petitioning in the late 1980s for a BART extension. More than 20 years later, the extension is still years away from completion -- though funding has been secured.