Passenger rail service, including Metrolink and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, is scheduled to fully and safely resume through South Orange County on Saturday, June 7, following the planned completion of construction of the initial phase of emergency efforts to reinforce the most vulnerable areas along the rail line in San Clemente.
Led by OCTA in partnership with Metrolink, construction has continued daily since the work began in late April, allowing passenger service to open slightly ahead of the initial schedule.
Crews finished strategically placing large boulders, also known as riprap, throughout the project areas, totaling approximately 5,900 tons of riprap to protect the track.
The rock was sorted and placed primarily within the area where riprap previously existed to protect against coastal erosion. Approximately 240,000 cubic yards of sand will also be placed on the beach between Mariposa Point and North Beach.
The project team is also finishing the placement of large temporary concrete barriers between the track and the inland bluff to create a safe workspace for crews to build an approximately 1,400-foot-long catchment wall in the coming months.
The wall construction schedule is still being determined but is anticipated to occur mostly behind those barriers to limit further disruption to passenger rail service.
Over the past four years, San Clemente’s eroding bluffs – on both city and private property – have repeatedly forced the closure of the rail line that has operated largely uninterrupted for more than 125 years.
For the latest on the project information, visit here.