HDR Selected to Lead Next Phase of LOSSAN Rail Realignment Project

Courtesy of HDR

SAN DIEGO – HDR announced that it will provide “environmental clearance and advanced conceptual engineering for SANDAG’s San Diego LOSSAN Rail Realignment Project.”

HDR announced that it will provide “environmental clearance and advanced conceptual engineering for SANDAG’s San Diego LOSSAN Rail Realignment Project.”

Selected by the San Diego Association of Governments, HDR will lead the next phase of the LOSSAN Rail Realignment Project. Having worked with SANDAG for the last three years on the San Diego Regional Rail Alternatives Analysis and Conceptual Engineering Study, it “set the groundwork for the realignment.” The realignment project is the first on the LOSSAN Rail Corridor that will be “designed to accommodate train speeds up to 110 mph, paving the way for future speed improvement projects on the corridor.”

According to the report, HDR partnered with “Mott MacDonald and several other firms including small businesses” and will “work with SANDAG to complete the California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental policy Act processes in 2026 to support the goal of opening the relocated rail line by 2035.”

HDR Principal-in-Charge Rob Klovsky stated in news release: “This project has been the highlight of my career, with a goal of creating solutions that benefit everyone involved. . . Not only is it a vital project that will keep our community connected to a national resource, but it’s also a crucial step towards addressing climate change. With the trust and leadership of SANDAG, I am confident that we can bring this project to fruition and keep our community connected.”

RT&S has reported numerous times over this past summer on Del Mar and the single track above the coastal bluffs. The project in question would “relocate about 5 miles of the rail line inland, from the bluffs to a double-tracked alignment located primarily in the tunnel and through Los Peñasquitos Lagoon in the City of San Diego.” Improving safety and reliability, this project would also increase capacity along the LOSSAN Rail Corridor.

HDR Project Manager Lorenzo Garrido stated: “This project is all about protecting a rail corridor and an economic lifeline for our region. .  . I am excited to be part of delivering the long-term solution of relocating the tracks from the coastal bluffs that will be a lasting benefit for future generations.”