“Repeated weather-related closures in San Clemente since 2021 underscore the need for both immediate fixes and forward-looking solutions,” the agency stated in a release.

Coastal erosion caused a three-month shutdown of the seven-mile stretch beginning in April. County authority crews in partnership with Metrolink placed about 5,900 tons of riprap to protect track alignment and 240,000 cu yd of sand on the beach in two areas between Mariposa Point and North Beach. 

More than 400 ft of concrete barrier were placed on the inland side of the track near Mariposa Point, creating a safe workspace for crews of Condon Johnson & Associates, which will eventually build an approximately 1,400-ft-long catchment wall under a design-build contract, says Jim Beil, the authority's director of capital programs. “We’re finalizing design now,” he says.

The California Transportation Commission allocated $92.2 million in May for the project, and the Federal Railroad Administration in June determined that it was categorically excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act. 

Kleinfelder will provide independent geotechnical engineering services.

The authority is also pursuing an inland sand source to place up to 10,000 cu yd of sand on beaches outside of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers jurisdiction in coordination with the Orange County Water District, which aims to environmentally clear, excavate and move sand from the Prado Dam basin to a nearby stockpile site this fall, Beil says. “Ultimately, 240,000 cubic yards of sand will be brought in,” he says. The agency anticipates a contract award next year.

It can’t be just any sand, Beil notes, adding that it can’t have too many cobbles or a color that clashes with existing beach sand. Dredging from the ocean floor implies marine life impacts and there’s only one suction hopper dredger on the West Coast, he says. 

But another project, near the border of San Diego County that would entail 1,400 cu yd of riprap and a 1,200-ft-long shoreline structure, does not qualify for an emergency contract by the California Coastal Commission, even though “we’re one storm away from waves eroding into the railbed,” Beil says. Ocean County aims for a permit by fall.

Past and Future Efforts

Three other emergency projects were executed in the past three years along the stretch. From September 2022 to April 2023, crews built a soil nail wall and drilled more than 200 ground anchors into a slope at Cyprus Shores to prevent the tracks from moving further toward the coast due to erosion; they had already been displaced 2 ft. From April to July 2023, a moving slope behind the Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens required a barrier wall. and from January to March 2024, a landslide near Mariposa Point toppled parts of a pedestrian bridge along the alignment and sent debris onto the tracks, requiring a 12-ft-high catchment wall.

The agency says it received some $305 million in state and federal grant funds in 2024 for ongoing emergency repairs.

Jim Starick, geotechnical manager at HDR, which has an on-call consultant contract with the county authority, says the Cypress Shores location lost “hundreds of feet” of beach facilities, including firepits and volleyball courts. “A sand buttress was holding back this old landslide. We dumped a bunch of riprap to help, but it was a band-aid. The permanent solution was [100-ft-long] tiebacks. But it doesn’t solve the problem of erosion.”

The resilience study is looking at additional options to reinforce the track for the next 30 years to limit further disruptions to passenger rail service. Public feedback this summer will help shape draft alternatives and a final feasibility report is expected in 2026.

A separate effort led by the state will look at solutions beyond the next 30 years, including potentially moving the rail line inland in south Orange County.