Emergency stabilization work to start this week on OCTA-owned San Clemente tracks

Work is tentatively scheduled to begin this week to stabilize the railroad track through San Clemente in Orange County, Calif., after the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) finalized a contract with Condon-Johnson & Associations Inc., a geotechnical contractor in Los Angeles.

Emergency repairs occurred in September 2021 to the track adjacent to the Cyprus Shore Homeowners Association in southern San Clemente following heavy rain and storm surge that caused movement along the track. OCTA explains while that emergency work stabilized the track for several months, geologists and engineers monitoring the area determined after additional storm surge in September 2022 that the adjacent slope was moving again and the track was moving .01 inches to .04 inches per day. Metrolink and Amtrak halted all passenger trains from using the track on Sept. 30 out of an abundance of caution until more stabilization efforts could take place.

The OCTA Board of Directors held a special meeting Oct. 4 and declared a state of emergency for the tracks in San Clemente, which cleared the authority to finalize a contract for the stabilization work.

“We’re in uncharted territory with this emergency stabilization work and, as we’ve said all along, passenger safety is what guides all of our actions,” said OCTA Chairman Mark A. Murphy, also the Mayor of Orange. “We want this work to get done as soon as possible but we first need to make sure it’s done right and the slope is secure.” ................(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/maintenance/article/21284232/emergency-stabilization-work-to-start-this-week-on-octaowned-san-clemente-tracks