Major upgrades underway on Batiquitos Lagoon rail corridor
The $166 million effort will replace an 80-year-old bridge, add a second track, and restore sensitive habitat along the coastal corridor, while other North County projects are on deck
CARLSBAD — Construction is underway on the Batiquitos Lagoon Double Track project, a $166 million effort to replace an 80-year-old wooden bridge and add a second rail line to improve train service along the coastal corridor.
Officials say the project will boost rail capacity, reduce delays, and improve safety along one of the nation’s busiest passenger and freight corridors, while also restoring sensitive habitat for an endangered species.
The nesting habitat for the California Least Tern was completed recently, but the bridge won’t be finished until 2028 due to seasonal restrictions tied to the bird’s nesting period from mid-April to July 31, according to SANDAG Project Manager Tim DeWitt.
“The ability to get more of the project’s double-tracked and getting more longer segments double-tracked allows us to get more trains on the corridor,” DeWitt added. “If we can get more trains, say every 20 minutes, … it will appeal more to people. It will really help the entire corridor.”
The scope of the project came into focus in 2014 as SANDAG, along with the North County Transit District and others, knew the bridge, which was constructed in the 1940s, needed to be replaced, DeWitt said.
A new bridge is just another piece in a larger puzzle for SANDAG and the LOSSAN (Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo) Corridor, DeWitt said. There are 60 miles of track in San Diego County, with 45 miles (75%) double-tracked, he added.
The corridor spans 351 miles and is the second-busiest intercity passenger rail line in the United States, and is the only freight rail link between San Diego and the rest of the nation.
“With the 15 miles, it’s all the hard stuff,” DeWitt explained. “It’s the lagoons, the rivers, all the easy stuff has been done. There is one project left to go from La Costa (Avenue) all the way down to Swami, through the city of Encinitas. That hasn’t really been kicked off in the planning stage.”
As for the Batiquitos Bridge, though, DeWitt said about 60,000 cubic yards of sand will be sent to South Ponto State Beach in Carlsbad and Encinitas over the next several years. He said the California Fish and Wildlife Service is working to obtain a permit for a large-scale dredging project in the inner lagoon to replenish at least 118,000 cubic yards of sand, as it would remove a massive sandbar tucked in the northwest corner near the railroad tracks.
