DEL MAR, Calif. — Construction will begin this month on a three-year, $78 million project to stabilize the Del Mar Bluffs along the Surf Line rail line, the Times of San Diego reports.
The segment along the Pacific Ocean has long been a source of erosion and occasional line closures on the route used by Coaster commuter trains, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliners, and BNSF freight traffic. And while the long-term goal is to relocate the route to an inland tunnel through Del Mar, the existing line will be in service for years to come, given the high cost, lengthy construction timeline, and ongoing fight by some Del Mar residents over the eventual path of that tunnel [see “Routes for Del Mar rail tunnel multiply,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 29, 2023].
The work, phase five of an ongoing project by SANDAG, the San Diego Association of Governments, will include installation of concrete and steel “soldier piles,” cable tie backs, and seawalls along a 1.6-mile stretch of the bluffs. In additional to normal business hours, some construction will take place on Sunday and Monday nights and during some weekends when passenger service will not operate. Those closures are always listed well in advance on the Pacific Surfliner website.
Surf Line rail operations remain disrupted by slide issues farther north in San Clemente, Calif., although construction of a temporary protective all there is expected to allow regular operations to resume later this month or early in April [see “Orange County agency considers half-mile wall …,” News Wire, March 14, 2024].
