CA: Contract awarded to double-track another segment of North County railroad

    May 28, 2025
    The San Diego Association of Governments awarded a $24.6 million contract Friday to Reyes Construction Co. of San Diego for an additional 1.1 miles of secondary railroad track north of Las Pulgas Road on Camp Pendleton.

    By Phil Diehl

    Source The San Diego Union-Tribune (TNS)

    The San Diego Association of Governments awarded a $24.6 million contract Friday to Reyes Construction Co. of San Diego for an additional 1.1 miles of secondary railroad track north of Las Pulgas Road on Camp Pendleton.

    “Currently, there are 14.8 miles of double track from the Orange County border south to Oceanside,” NCTD Chief of Staff Mary Dover said by email Friday. “The San Onofre to Pulgas double track project will improve reliability of the rail corridor.”

    The second set of tracks allows train to pass each other, improving service, speed and efficiency along the entire route.

    The contract covers a second phase of work on the San Onofre to Pulgas stretch of the rail corridor. It was approved with other items on the SANDAG board’s consent calendar.

    The first phase began in May 2015 and resulted in 4.2 miles of additional track from San Onofre State Park to just north of Las Pulgas Road. That phase also included the replacement of a 1931 wooden bridge, according to SANDAG.

    SANDAG has been working with North County Transit District to add a second set of tracks to the rail corridor between downtown San Diego and the Orange County border. More than 75% of the route has been double-tracked so far, and several additional segments are planned or under construction.

    The corridor is used by Amtrak, BNSF freight, and NCTD’s Coaster commuter trains. Metrolink commuter trains operated across six Southern California counties also come as far south as the Oceanside station.

    SANDAG is the lead agency for the double-track project. NCTD owns and maintains the railroad right-of-way.

    The $22,386,411 base bid from Reyes was the lowest of two bids that met the job specifications for Phase 2 of the project. The only other responsive bid out of six received was $24,611,022 from Flatiron West of Concord. The engineer’s estimate for the project was $23,430,946.40.

    The total value of the Reyes contract will not exceed $22,386,411 plus a 10% contingency of $2,238,641 for a total of $24,625,052, according to a SANDAG staff report, adding that the total exceeded the estimate because of delays and inflation.

    Construction is expected to take about 450 working days, according to the report.

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