DEL MAR, Calif. — The California Transportation Commission has awarded more than $37 million to the San Diego Association of Governments for its continuing project to stabilize the rail line along Del Mar Bluffs, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
The next phase in the project, scheduled to begin in November, is expected to cost more than $78 million, with funding from the Federal Transit Administration ($13 million) and Federal Railroad Administration ($11.75 million) as well as the North County Transit District and California Natural Resources Agency. SANDAG, the regional planning agency, will begin advertising bid for the work in April.
The ongoing efforts to stabilize the 60-foot-tall bluffs include driving concrete and steel columns and construction of retaining walls, among other measures. The stabilization work on the route used by Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliners, Coaster commuter trains, and BNSF freight traffic is considered an interim measure. The long-term goal is to move the route inland, with a tunnel under Del Mar, a project likely to cost more than $4 billion. SANDAG received $300 million for planning for that project last fall [see “San Diego planning agency accepts funds …,” Trains News Wire,” Sept. 12, 2022].
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