California Coastal Commission Unanimously Approves OCTA's Rail Protection Plan for San Clemente
The California Coastal Commission, meeting in San Francisco, voted 11-0 to approve the Orange County Transportation Authority's rail-protection plan for the San Clemente segment in Orange County, California. The plan keeps 48,463 tons of existing riprap on the ocean side, adds 2,100 tons of larger rock, builds a 1,223-foot seawall and places 690,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach.
The line is the throat of the Los Angeles-San Diego passenger and freight corridor. Erosion has narrowed the beach near Cyprus Shore from about 200 feet to under 80 feet in a decade, and since 2021 the south Orange County rail line has been shut repeatedly by erosion and slides. Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge called the situation dire, and Commissioner Ray Jackson pressed staff on beach impacts before the vote.
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, vice chair of the county board, spoke in support, arguing the corridor carries commuters, freight and military traffic and that armoring is the only workable way to keep it as the beach recedes. Environmental groups asked for long-term monitoring conditions in the permit.
The permit runs 10 years with a five-year midpoint check. OCTA says design and bidding come next, with train-service changes announced ahead of construction; the midpoint review will judge sand retention and seawall performance before any change in approach.
(Source: Orange County Transportation Authority)
Source: Orange County Transportation Authority
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图片来源：Wikimedia Commons「File:San Clemente State Beach railroad tracks.jpg」（Brian MacIntosh 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0） Image: Wikimedia Commons "File:San Clemente State Beach railroad tracks.jpg" (by Brian MacIntosh, CC BY-SA 4.0)
