Barrier Wall Construction Starts in San Clemente

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. – Crews have started work on a barrier wall along San Clemente line that experienced a landslide earlier this year.

Much has been written on the landslide that occurred in San Clemente. On June 16^th, RT&S reported that a temporary wall is to be built. More recently, the Del Mar Times has reported that work crew have begun “staging heavy equipment Monday for a wall to be built” along the track in San Clemente “where a landslide continues to prevent passenger train service between San Diego and Orange counties.” Freight service has already been allowed to resume at 10 miles per hour. Director of Communications for Metrolink, Scott Johnson, said of the passenger service that they do not “have a precise timeline as to the completion of the barrier wall and resumption of passenger rail service.”

The wall is estimated to measure roughly 12-15 feet high and 250-300 feet long, with final dimensions to be determined during construction. A final cost estimate for the Casa Romantica service interruption is in the $5-6 million range, and “the expense will be covered by a $3 million allocation from the California Transportation Commission, with the rest being pad by local Orange County Transportation Authority funding.”

As crews work to “stabilize the slope beneath the city’s Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens”, the wall should “protect the railroad from any additional rock and debris.” Last Friday, Board of Directors for Metrolink approved a contract “with geotechnical firm Condon-Johnson & Associates Inc. to design and install the temporary wall just north of the San Clemente Pier.” Condon-Johnson & Associates also worked on another “unrelated emergency slope stabilization near the Cyprus Shore Homeowners Association,” where it installed 220 ground anchors.

For passengers along the line, North County Transit District will continue “to provide Coaster commuter service between Oceanside and San Diego, and some Amtrak trains have a bus connection to take passengers around the closed section of track between the stations at Oceanside and Irvine.”