OCTA advances California coastal rail stability projects

The Orange County Transportation Authority's (OCTA) board has advanced four projects designed to stabilize the coastal rail line through San Clemente, California.

The board advanced the placement of a catchment wall at Mariposa Point to protect against landslides; and protective measures such as riprap repair, revetments, seawalls and sand nourishment in three more locations along the coast.

Preliminary engineering and the environmental document on the catchment wall are anticipated to conclude by early 2026, while alternative analysis and preliminary procedures for the other three locations are expected to be finished by early 2027.

Since fall 2021, coastal erosion and multiple bluff failures and landslides have impacted rail operations on the Los Angeles–San Diego–San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) rail corridor, requiring emergency stabilization efforts, said OCTA officials in a press release.

OCTA is collaborating with California government agencies, San Clemente, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, LOSSAN, Amtrak and BNSF Railway Co. In fall 2024, OCTA secured $305 million in state and federal funding to complete the coastal rail stabilization priority project.