In another major milestone for the 351-mile Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo rail corridor, Stage 1 of the HNTB-designed San Onofre to Pulgas stretch of 4.2 miles of double track was recently opened. The new section brings the San Diego county segment of the LOSSAN corridor double tracking project to more than two-thirds completion.
The HNTB team provided the final design for Stage 1 and Stage 2 for the San Onofre to Pulgas Double Track Project, which will add a total of 5.8 miles of second mainline rail track within the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, north of Oceanside. The project spans from San Onofre State Park to Las Flores Creek just south of Las Pulgas Road in the North County Transit District railroad right-of-way.
The project also includes a link that allows trains to cross between the two tracks and the replacement of a wood timber trestle bridge with a modern concrete structure.
“This is an exciting milestone for the ongoing LOSSAN corridor enhancements,” said Christopher Hahn, PE, HNTB project manager. “Design work has been completed for the project’s second stage of construction, which will add a 1.6-mile segment of double track from north of Las Pulgas Road to Las Flores Creek on Camp Pendleton.”
HNTB also is working on double-track designs for Eastbrook to Shell, Batiquitos Lagoon, and San Dieguito Double Track and Special Events Platform projects. The projects encompass planning, environmental, drainage, track design, civil engineering, and positive train control integration.
“Every double-tracked mile on the San Diego-to-Los Angeles rail corridor continues to improve capacity, reliability and efficiency on one of the busiest intercity passenger rail systems in the United States,” said Kevin Reed, PE, HNTB San Diego office leader.
During the next 30 years, the San Diego Association of Governments plans approximately $1 billion in improvements in the 60-mile San Diego segment of the LOSSAN corridor, including a primary effort to double track the corridor from Orange County to downtown San Diego. To date, more than two-thirds of the San Diego corridor has been double tracked. Other infrastructure improvements include bridge and track replacements, new platforms, pedestrian under crossings, and other safety and operational enhancements.
