An update on plans to guarantee a threatened rail line through the county of South Orange was presented to the members of the board of directors of Orange County Transportation Authority on Monday, detailing more delay in proposed projects, as well as Devices to come.
Since 2021, several landslides on the interior side and narrowing beaches on the sea side of the line have had an impact on railway operations, sometimes closing the whole line for weeks and resulting in a series of emergency repair projects.
OCTA has since examined longer term projects to preserve railway operations, but also more immediate steps to protect the tracks. On Monday, the OCTA board of directors approved the staff recommendation to continue collaboration with stakeholders and discussions with the public for contribution.
The railway line is part of the Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (Lossan) rail corridor which is used for passenger and freight rail service.
Already, 40 million dollars have been spent on the installation of rap and watershed walls after landslides at Cyprus Shore, Casa Romantica and Mariposa Point, where a pedestrian bridge that is part of the popular beach path of the city was destroyed.
OCTA has identified more areas at risk of San Clemente, where coastal storms are increasing, defaulting cliffs and other factors are an immediate threat of more disturbances in rail services. Four zones, called the priority project on the stabilization of coastal rails, were identified and throughout last year, nearly three dozen meetings took place with stakeholders, regulatory organizations and the public to collect comments on how they should be treated.
Contributions included a call to natural solutions such as replenishment in sand and the establishment of living shores, taking into account the impacts of armor on the erosion of the beach, support for preventive preventive measures, the Consultation with housing experts and the maintenance of reliable rail operations.
Some of the proposed bluff concept improvements include various types of walls, stabilization measures and drainage improvements. The concepts by the beach include Riprap placement, rocky engineering coatings and beach sand food.
“It is really a menu of different options that we have examined, be it the bluff side, the beach side or the railway line itself,” said project manager Dan Phu. “It’s really more a kitchen sink.
“Then the idea is to reduce it to a more manageable number, where we will start the evaluation process,” he added. “The public commitment of stakeholders will be part of this process.”
Key challenges have been identified in the presentation of Monday at the OCTA board of directors, in particular obtaining authorization through various agencies, the identification and authorization of a source of replenishment in Sufficient sand, the development and securing of a time transport and delivery method in a timely manner, as well as approvals and permit for additional coating.
There will be more stakeholder meetings, have declared managers, and the next update with a set of refined concepts to consider on the board of directors is planned in 2025. A final feasibility report is expected to be mid- 2026.
The Octa will start the preliminary engineering phase for the various concepts, officials said, which will help determine the priority of the necessary improvements.
Staff will also work with regulation organizations to try to speed up the authorization processes, they said.
“Remove from this process, the idea is to essentially offer a set of solutions for the next wave of necessary actions and to seek to prioritize the most urgent needs,” said Phu. “So, as always, we will seek to start regulatory agencies early and often, just as we have done in other areas.”
There is also the risk of bluffing failure that could be a threat and modify the project calendar, noted Phu.
“So far this year, with the exception of this week as well as the previous week, it was a relatively dry season, so we had the chance to see any event,” said Phu. “But there is always the risk of not knowing what the future has in store for us.”
The director of the city of San Clement, Andy Hall, noted that there was a feeling of urgency, with the pedestrian bridge which needs to be repaired to be the only access point for the rescuers to connect to the North Beach region.
The co-founder of Save Beaches, Susie Whitelaw, gave an invitation to the members of the board of directors of the transport authority to visit the city’s bank to see how recent sand efforts helped to provide a stamp to The train line, including a body project of the American army engineers which put 200,000 of cubic sand sites near the pier, grains that came and moved to fill up to a mile south. The group is concerned with additional hard amoeing – the accumulation of RIP RAP and boulders barriers on the coast to protect the tracks – in particular as an emergency measure.
“You can say it because it is a little darker than the native sand that was there,” she said, noting that the areas considered “hot spots” are now a little better protected by sand . “Sand works. It worked for 130 years to protect your tracks. That’s all you need. I also really want to encourage you to minimize the rock imprint. »»
Hall thanked Octa staff for their leadership and collaboration.
“I know this is a very complex problem,” he said. “I know this is a very difficult situation in which you are. We are partners to ensure that not only the trains continue, but that we have a beautiful seafront. As you can imagine, our residents are also passionate about their beach and their seafront, that you are by train to move the trains. »»
In a separate, but linked discussion, the staff gave an update on discussion organizations on Monday to obtain regulatory permits to immediately start work.
The regulatory license agencies have determined that four areas of strengthening immediate needs will not be processed in the context of emergency authorization procedures “because the rail line is operational and that an emergency does not exist”, according to The staff report.
In an emergency, a project can continue an immediate construction with the appropriate notification to regulatory agencies. When a project takes place as an emergency project, the development of the required project includes more planning, environment, design and construction steps.
“If these tasks cannot be performed within a reasonable time, before the following storm seasons, there is a risk of potential rail service disturbances for passengers and goods due to additional bluff and coastal erosion failures “Said OCTA staff in Octa in their report to the members of the Board of Directors.
Whitelaw of the Save Our Beaches Group said that, when there was no opposition to the walls of the watershed on the inner side of the erected tracks while emergency work, rocks or other changes made At the beach should go through an environmental impact review.
There was also a discussion on sand sources and permits, with several potential interior sources identified such as the Prado dam, the industrial sands of Lapeyre and the Lower Santa Ana river.
The areas have a range of available quantities, of variable qualities, but the distances explain if they make a viable source of inner sand. The current estimate required is around 540,000 cubic yards, which would make 44,000 necessary truck trips.
Offshore sites are also being studied, although it appears that Sunside-Sunset is the only place where a viable sand source is currently known. San Clemente also investigates whether a narrower source of sand is available for the replenishment projects it plans.
The environmental and sand authorization process will take approximately two years, officials said.
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