Environment |

Big waves move railroad tracks, again, in south San Clemente 

A storm surge that hit the region recently caused damage to a railroad line in southern San Clemente, the same section that had to close a year ago when battered by storms that prompted a landslide and track movement.

The area, near the private community of Cyprus Shores, now gets slammed by waves after years of sand loss and erosion swept away the beach buffer between the ocean and land, creating a vulnerable point in the rail system authorities are keeping a close eye on.

The first sign of railroad movement was spotted Friday, Sept. 9, when tropical storm Kay came roaring into the region and created big swells that combined with high tides, sending a surge of water to batter vulnerable areas.

Metrolink responded by placing about 1,645 tons of rip rap, or large boulders, the following week to stabilize the track and ensure a safe railroad, according to Scott Johnson, Metrolink’s director of communications.

“Metrolink staff continue to proactively inspect the tracks and monitor the area,” he said.

More rocks will likely be placed along the right-of-way through Oct. 2, depending on conditions and observations, he noted.

There’s been no lines stopped, as happened last year with repairs, but there were 30-minute delays to some Orange County Line and Inland Empire-Orange County Line trains last week as the train speed through the area was reduced as a precaution, he said.

The track movement from the ocean’s force illustrates the vulnerability of beachfront infrastructure as the ocean inches closer to the coast, with eroding sands no longer offering a buffer against the sea. Other areas such as Capistrano Beach in Dana Point and Doheny State Beach near the southern parking lot continue to get battered with each new swell.

In south San Clemente, the tracks stay dry most of the year when ocean activity is moderate, but if a big swell and high tide combine, water pushes onto the tracks, especially as sand has eroded rapidly in recent years.

The Orange County Transportation Authority, along with the Caltrans District 12, last year completed a study assessing how future climate change could affect the Orange County rail corridor.

The OCTA study says “sea level rise and relevant coastal hazards, including storm surge and shoreline erosion, pose a threat to almost all (of) the approximately 7-mile coastal rail corridor in Orange County.”

Slope failure and erosion were also addressed, with the study looking at changing precipitation patterns as well as changing coastal storm patterns that can affect erosion and increase the likelihood of slopes being unstable.

Along the coastal rail corridor, there are various bluff failures and erosion threats on the land side of the tracks and shoreline erosion threats on the coastal side, the study says.

The OCTA studied options for protecting vulnerable areas, including adding varying levels of seawall and rocky riprap and boulders that can serve as barriers to the sea. That is the current plan as an emergency measure to protect the tracks.

The OCTA explored relocation of the train inland to run along the 5 Freeway in its climate change assessment, though that option would come with a high price tag in the billions of dollars, the study says. A two-segment rail tunnel could be built along the freeway from San Onofre State Beach to Avenida Aeropuerto in San Juan Capistrano for an estimated $5.9 billion.

An estimated $300 million of state funds were recently approved to study relocating the train tracks off cliffs in Del Mar, which has suffered from severe erosion in recent years.

San Clemente could soon get some relief to its eroding beaches.  U.S. Representative Mike Levin this year secured $9.3 million for the San Clemente Shoreline Protection project, aimed at protecting the Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor tracks that run along the coastline.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project involves placing about 251,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach from Linda Lane to T-street, a distance of about 3,400 feet. It will widen the beach about 50 feet to reduce storm damage, increase safety and add recreational benefits for the public, according to Levin’s staff.

Some of that sand could push south to the Cypress Shores area, near the surf break Cotton’s Point.

UC Irvine environmental engineering expert Brett Sanders said those sand replenishment projects are needed. The drought the past few years is contributing to the area’s lack of sand. With no rain pushing sediment down the nearby creek, sand isn’t being redistributed naturally offshore.

“One of the links is, there just hasn’t been enough sand supply from that creek to keep a beach that’s going to defend the rocks and railway from the stress of these waves events,” he said. “That beach has really thinned out over time because there’s no sand supply.”

Students have been studying the wave data and modeling to analyze the shoreline angle in south San Clemente – and unless there’s that sand supply, there’s going to be a continual thinning beach, they have found.

And while adding rocks may protect the railway in the short-term, it could further worsen the issue by creating stronger wave action onto rocks, causing even more erosion.

“If they are getting hit every year by water,” he said, “the sand is going to be moved away even faster.”

The key will be adding “living shoreline” designs on top of harder armoring beneath to create a more natural wave action that won’t cut away at the sand so easily, he said. If wave action washes those elements away, the community can come together to replant and rebuild the beach buffer when needed.

“Your hope is you don’t have to use that last resort often,” he  said. “Plan for the possibility that you have to rebuild it.”