Project protects the coastal rail line from bluff movement while restoring a popular recreational trail for the community
ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority is completing a major coastal rail protection project at Mariposa Point in San Clemente this week, allowing a popular section of the San Clemente Beach Trail to reopen to the public.
The OCTA-led project, estimated to cost approximately $93 million, includes a nearly 1,400-foot catchment wall designed to protect the railroad tracks from falling rocks, soil and debris from the adjacent coastal bluff.
Importantly, the project also restores the beach trail alongside the railroad, reconnecting an important coastal recreational route for residents and visitors.
The trail is expected to reopen this week, with OCTA holding an official ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning that will include members of the OCTA Board of Directors, San Clemente City Council and state and federal partners, all who have partnered in the effort to restore the beach trail and advance efforts to protect the rail corridor.
“This project is another example of OCTA delivering our commitment to protect this vital rail connection while also returning a popular recreational amenity to the community,” said OCTA Chair Jamey M. Federico. “Protecting the rail line requires strong partnerships at every level, and I’m grateful to my fellow OCTA Board members, the city, our state and federal partners and the community for working with us to get this important work completed.”
Protecting the rail line and restoring community access
Construction on the protective wall and pedestrian trail began in September 2025 as part of OCTA’s broader emergency effort to protect the coastal rail corridor through San Clemente. The work included construction of the wall along the bluff side of the tracks, along with improvements necessary to rebuild and restore the adjacent beach pedestrian trail.
The project follows years of challenges along the San Clemente coastline. Since 2021, passenger and freight rail operations have been interrupted multiple times because of coastal bluff failures, beach loss, erosion, and deterioration of railroad shoreline protection.
The LOSSAN Rail Corridor through San Clemente is a critical link in Southern California’s transportation network, carrying Metrolink and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner passenger trains as well as freight and military transportation.
At Mariposa Point, those challenges have also affected public access to the coast. A January 2024 landslide from private property above the rail line deposited soil and debris on the track and destroyed the city’s beach trail bridge through the area, interrupting passenger rail service again.
OCTA and Metrolink responded by constructing a 200-foot protective wall that allowed regular passenger service to resume in March 2024.
The project now being completed provides more extensive protection along Mariposa Point while rebuilding the beach trail and restoring the coastal connection for the community. The beach trail itself is estimated to cost about $24 million of that overall cost, funding primarily with state and federal sources.
Before photo from early 2024:
Part of a broader coastal rail effort
The Emergency Rai Project, at Mariposa Point, is one piece of OCTA’s comprehensive effort to protect the existing rail line while planning for its future.
OCTA is advancing emergency projects at several vulnerable locations through San Clemente that include repairing and reinforcing existing riprap, adding up to 690,000 cubic yards of sand to help buffer the railroad from wave action, constructing shoreline protection and protecting the tracks from bluff movement.
In September, the OCTA Board declared an emergency along the coastal rail corridor to help accelerate contracting and other actions needed to advance additional protection. OCTA has secured more than $300 million in state and federal funding for coastal rail stabilization and continues working closely with San Clemente and local, state and federal partners on the effort.
At the same time, OCTA is looking beyond the immediate emergency work. The Coastal Rail Resiliency Study evaluates strategies for protecting approximately 7 miles of the coastal rail corridor through Dana Point and San Clemente for the next 30 years, while a separate state-led effort will examine longer-term solutions beyond that timeframe.
The completion of the Mariposa Point project demonstrates how those efforts can provide multiple benefits – protecting an essential transportation corridor while working with the city and community to preserve public access to the coast.
The pedestrian trail could be available for public use by mid-week, as soon as final touches are put on the trail and construction fencing comes down, but the trail will officially reopen with Friday morning’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
