The Orange County Transportation Authority on Friday reopened a section of the San Clemente Beach Trail at Mariposa Point, completing a project to protect the coastal rail line from bluff debris and rebuild the pedestrian path that runs beside it.
The approximately $93 million project includes a nearly 1,400-foot catchment wall built to keep falling rocks, soil and debris from the adjacent coastal bluff off the railroad tracks. Crews also built a new pedestrian bridge at Mariposa Channel and rebuilt the trail, adding handrail fencing, landscaping and other improvements. The trail portion of the project is estimated at about $24 million and was funded primarily through state and federal sources, according to OCTA.
OCTA Board members, San Clemente city officials and state and federal representatives attended the ribbon-cutting.
“This is a great day for San Clemente and for everyone who values this beautiful coastline,” said OCTA Chair Jamey M. Federico. “We’re delivering on our commitment to protect a vital rail connection while returning an important community amenity to the public. This project also demonstrates what we can accomplish when OCTA, the city, state and federal agencies and the community work together toward a common goal.”
Construction began in September 2025. In January 2024, a landslide from private property above the railroad deposited soil and debris on the tracks at Mariposa Point and destroyed the city’s pedestrian bridge, cutting off the beach trail and halting passenger rail service. OCTA and Metrolink then built a 200-foot protective wall, and regular passenger service resumed in March 2024.
“For the people of San Clemente and neighboring communities, reopening this trail means restoring a connection that is an important part of everyday life along our coast,” said OCTA Director Katrina Foley, who is also the Orange County Fifth District Supervisor. “At the same time, we know the work to protect this rail corridor must continue. Sand replenishment, shoreline protection and strong partnerships at every level are all critical as we confront the ongoing effects of increasingly severe coastal conditions.”
The LOSSAN Rail Corridor through San Clemente carries Metrolink and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner passenger trains, as well as freight and military traffic. Since 2021, rail operations through the city have been interrupted multiple times by bluff failures, beach loss, erosion and deteriorating shoreline protection.
“This project represents exactly the kind of progress we want to keep making in San Clemente – taking action now to protect the rail corridor while working closely with the city and community to preserve access to the coast,” said OCTA CEO Darrell E. Johnson. “We’re grateful to everyone who helped make today possible, especially the crews who worked in a very challenging coastal environment to deliver stronger public infrastructure and a restored trail for the community.”
The Mariposa Point work is one of several OCTA projects along the San Clemente coastline. The agency is conducting emergency work at other vulnerable locations, including reinforcing existing riprap, placing up to 690,000 cubic yards of sand to buffer the railroad from wave action, building additional shoreline protection and protecting the tracks from bluff movement.
In September, the OCTA Board declared an emergency along the coastal rail corridor to speed up contracting and related actions. The agency says it has secured more than $300 million in state and federal funding for coastal rail stabilization.
OCTA is also conducting the Coastal Rail Resiliency Study, which evaluates strategies for protecting approximately 7 miles of railroad through Dana Point and San Clemente over the next 30 years. A separate state-led effort will examine longer-term options, including possibly relocating portions of the rail line away from the most vulnerable sections of coastline.
