ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA — Today, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley announced the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Board’s vote to approve the release of a request for proposals (RFP) for consultant services to conduct a feasibility study on the railroad corridor and beach erosion along Dana Point, San Clemente, and unincorporated areas.
This comes on the heels of Supervisor Foley’s numerous calls for further rail planning and sand replenishment in response to the recent emergency railroad stabilization efforts in San Clemente where coastal erosion impacted the railroad tracks.
“Orange County remains decades behind on our coastal rail and sand replenishment planning for our south county beaches. Giant boulders now occupy the spaces where surfers accessed the water, and residents and tourists previously enjoyed sandy beaches, and which also served to protect our railroad corridor. We must move with urgency to take a proactive approach to addressing the coastal erosion threatening our coastal economy, our national defense, our homes, and our quality of life,” said Supervisor Foley.
“I look forward to beginning regular meetings with stakeholders on solution planning. We must look past temporary fixes. This rail corridor study and concurrent sand replenishment efforts are necessary steps towards identifying and implementing long-term solutions to prevent further coastal erosion and its impacts on our way of life,” Supervisor Foley added.
Supervisor Foley is working with Congressman Mike Levin to secure appropriations from the Army Corps of Engineers to replenish the beaches of South Orange County that border the Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor. Simultaneously, the study will assess existing and future risks, issues, and challenges surrounding a section of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor in south Orange County while taking federal, state, and local sustainability planning efforts into consideration. The impacted tracks are part of the second busiest intercity passenger rail corridor in the country as well as a designated national defense rail corridor within the Strategic Rail Corridor Network by the Department of Defense. The corridor sees more than 150 daily passenger trains and more than 70 freight trains per day.
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Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2022 to represent the newly established District 5, which includes the cities of Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa, Dana Point, a large portion of Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Newport Beach, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, as well as the unincorporated areas of Coto de Caza, Emerald Bay, Ladera Ranch, Las Flores, Rancho Mission Viejo, Stonecliffe and Wagon Wheel. This is her second term on the Board of Supervisors, where she previously served District 2.
Supervisor Foley’s Board appointments include the Orange County Fire Authority, Coastal Greenbelt Authority, Law Library Board of Trustees, Newport Bay and South Orange County Watershed Executive Committees, OC Public Libraries Advisory Board, Orange County Housing Finance Trust, Orange County Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, Orange County Transportation Authority, and the Transportation Corridor Agency.
