Del Mar Bluffs stabilization project

Trains News Wire

Work to begin on Del Mar Bluffs stabilization

 

By Trains Staff | March 19, 2024

 

Three-year project will protect Surf Line route

 

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].

 

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Related:  Del Mar, CA Track Relocation

Railway Track and Structures, 3/19/24

SANDAG Prepares for $78M, 3-Year Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Project

 

DEL MAR, Calif. –– The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) has announced a major project to stabilize the Del Mar Bluffs.

 

Railway Track and Structures has been following the saga of geologic changes and track dislocation along the LOSSAN Corridor for a couple of years. The LOSSAN Corridor is a 351-mile stretch of rail along the southern California coast that covers San Diego – Los Angeles – San Luis Obispo. One of the most problematic areas has been the Bluffs in Del Mar, which is a two-mile section of the LOSSAN corridor that has suffered significant erosion and is no longer suitable for the operation of trains.

 

The Times of San Diego reports that the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) announced this week that it will begin a $78M construction project later this month at the Del Mar Bluffs that will last three years and will stabilize the geology to protect the railroad tracks that have been affected by the erosion and geologic changes. The funding was provided by a mix of local, state, and federal resources.

 

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The San Diego (CA) Union-Tribune, 5/13/24

For the imperiled coastal rail line, Del Mar seawalls are ‘imperative.’ For locals, they’re ‘the construction zone from hell.’

 

Seawalls take up too much beach space and reduce access to hillside trails, residents tell SANDAG official

 

Residents of the wealthy coastal city whose crumbling bluffs are endangering the only rail line from San Diego to the rest of the nation are balking at measures being taken to shore up the vital transportation corridor.

 

It’s not the first time Del Mar has argued that efforts to preserve the coastline should not compromise beach access and sand retention. But those demands clash with regional efforts to forestall the inevitable collapse of the bluff from erosion and rising seas.

 

The tensions highlight the continuing push and pull between those trying to preserve a disappearing way of life and those trying to protect a critical national asset until it can be moved inland.