Orange County transportation officials got approval from one of the state’s top commissions to speed up efforts to place sand and rock along the Pacific Surfliner rail line that runs through San Clemente to protect it from landslides and coastal erosion.
The application focuses on four main areas most vulnerable to failures from landslides and erosion. Leaders from the Orange County Transportation Authority plan to place both sand and rock, also known as riprap, with the rock coming in first as they look for affordable sand.
OCTA staff submitted the permit application to the California Coastal Commission in late March in an effort to expedite the construction to avoid any more closures along the rail line that has at times been shut down for months.
[Read: Is Orange County’s Coastal Train Entering its Final Days?]
“Emergency action is necessary to prevent additional disruption of vital rail service,” reads a March 31 statement from OCTA. “In addition, continued erosion requires quick action to repair and replace existing riprap, and deliver enough sand to help protect the tracks.”
Transportation leaders plan to add up to 540,000 cubic yards of sand and about 6,500 cubic yards of riprap placement and repair along the rail line. Plans also include another 22,000 cubic yards of a new revetment or seawall.
Coastal erosion has been chipping away at San Clemente’s shoreline for decades as the city battles landslides, bridge failures, sand loss and a struggle to find funding for beach nourishment.
[Read: San Clemente Officials Seek Money For Sand Replenishment]
The bluff sitting above the rail line in San Clemente has collapsed multiple times over the past few years, blocking the tracks and causing months-long delays. Heavy rains during the winter months have also worsened landslides and closures.
[Read: Transportation Officials Discuss Future of OC’s Collapsing Coastal Railway]
“This approval allows us to use the $305 million we secured through Representative Mike Levin and our State partners to place up to 540,000 cubic yards of sand onto San Clemente’s beaches, install new catchment walls to address landslides, and reconstruct the public pedestrian trail within the next 18 months,” OCTA board member and OC Supervisor Katrina Foley said in an April 11 statement.
“I appreciate the quick approval by the California Coastal Commission to support our efforts to restore the safety and stability of our beaches and the Coastal Rail Corridor with long term sustainable solutions.”
But sand placement isn’t expected for at least a couple of years.
County leaders estimate repairing the riprap will only take a matter of weeks, while the sand portion of the project isn’t expected to be completed until 2027.
At the transportation agency board meeting on April 14, board members approved a resolution allowing the transportation agency’s CEO to “take all necessary actions” to address railroad stabilization, an action that’s meant to work in tandem with the state’s emergency permit.
At that meeting, Foley said she’s disappointed about how long it will take to place sand.
“We’ll get the rocks there within four weeks, and we’re going to take two years to get sand,” she said. “To me, that does not really address the issues of the emergency that we were trying to accomplish with this.”
“I’m concerned that the rocks-only approach will further exacerbate the coastal erosion. We’ve heard time and time again from the engineers and the experts that that is what happens.”
Supervisor Doug Chaffee, the chair of the transportation authority’s board, also praised the move in a video published after the meeting,
“These efforts are essential to preserving service along the LOSSAN (Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo Rail) corridor,” Chaffee said.
Currently, the transportation agency has put out a request for information looking for sand dredger availability.
According to the staff’s presentation during the April 14 board meeting, the county expects to put out a call for bids and award a contract next year.
County officials are also working with the City of San Clemente to explore nearby offshore sand sources.
Further plans from the county include the removal of the Mariposa Pedestrian Bridge to make space for a 1400-foot catchment wall to prevent coastal bluff movements from affecting the tracks. The bridge is slated to be replaced by a pedestrian trail expected to run along the wall.
County transportation officials have placed riprap along the rail line in the past in an effort to protect the tracks from waves as the beach shrinks.
But environmental advocates have criticized riprap, saying it speeds up sand erosion. An online petition calling for an end to OCTA’s hard-armoring plans has gathered over 11,000 signatures since it was created last year.
Suzie Whitelaw, president of the Save Our Beaches San Clemente, said she supports the repair of any pre-existing riprap but is against the placement of any additional rocks and boulders that could widen the revetments.
“Every time the waves hit the boulders, it creates a lot of turbulence, and that creates a lot of erosion right in front of the rocks,” Whitelaw said in a phone interview. “The rocks always increase the rate of erosion.”
“If they put the sand out with the rocks and put a wide beach out in front of it, it wouldn’t be as bad. But to have those rocks right there at the coastline, it’s just a recipe for disaster.”
[Read: Environmental Groups Say Saving Train Tracks Harms San Clemente’s Beaches]
San Clemente leaders are also prioritizing sand over riprap.
San Clemente City Manager Andy Hall did not respond to requests for comment.
