The Orange County Transportation Authority marked a key milestone in its ongoing emergency effort to protect the coastal rail line with an initial sand nourishment effort getting underway in San Clemente.

More than 300 truckloads of sand from a quarry in Palm Springs, totaling approximately 3,400 cubic yards of sand, are scheduled to be delivered to the shoreline between the rail line and the ocean over the next week, along a more than quarter-mile span of beach.

According to an agency release, the sand is being placed along the beach as an immediate step to help reinforce the rail line while longer-term reinforcement work continues.

OCTA leaders emphasized that this first wave of sand is an important initial deposit on a much larger effort to place a total of up to 540,000 cubic yards of sand along the San Clemente coastline, pending sand sourcing and additional state and federal permitting approvals.

“I want to thank the collective effort of agencies and leaders at every level of government who helped make this initial sand placement a reality,” said OCTA Vice Chair Jamey M. Federico, also a Dana Point Councilmember. “Reaching this milestone was possible because of our federal and state partners, multiple agencies including the Federal Railroad Administration, the California State Transportation Agency, California Transportation Commission, the Coastal Commission, the City of San Clemente, and the community.”

Rail Line Reinforcement Efforts Expand

The work is part of OCTA’s ongoing effort to focus on four priority areas to protect the rail line through south Orange County, which is a vital link in Southern California’s rail network for passengers, freight, and military assets. The sand nourishment is estimated to cost about $900,000.

“This initial placement of sand highlights our dedication to securing our rail corridor and protecting our coast,” said OCTA Director Katrina Foley, also the county’s Fifth District Supervisor. “We must work collaboratively with all levels of government to expedite sand renourishment efforts and protect our iconic Orange County beaches.”

Additional work near Mariposa Point is scheduled to begin later this month and will include the restoration of the popular San Clemente Pedestrian Beach Trail and the construction of a nearly 1,400-foot-long catchment wall to protect the rail line from debris caused by landslides on the hill above. That work is scheduled to be completed in summer 2026.

Background on the Emergency Rail Reinforcement Project

Over the past four years, San Clemente’s eroding bluffs — on both city and private property — have repeatedly forced the closure of the rail line that has operated largely uninterrupted for more than 125 years.

To prevent additional service interruptions, OCTA is leading efforts to immediately reinforce four of the most vulnerable areas along the 7-mile stretch of rail in San Clemente, while continuing a Coastal Rail Resiliency Study that will pursue additional solutions to protect the line for the next approximately 30 years.

The first part of that emergency work started in April and finished in June, including the strategic repair and placement of large boulders known as riprap to protect the track from coastal erosion.

OCTA worked in partnership with Metrolink and the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, which operates Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner, to temporarily halt passenger service while that work was completed on an expedited construction schedule over six weeks. Current work to place the sand on the shoreline and subsequent work are not expected to affect passenger rail service.