DEL MAR, Calif. — Proposed routes for a tunnel to replace the rail line along the Del Mar bluffs, which at one time had been narrowed to two options, are now back to a total of 11 options in the wake of objections by Del Mar residents, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
The multi-billion dollar project would move about 1.6 miles of the former Santa Fe Surf Line track, used by Coaster commuter trains, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliners, and BNSF freight traffic, off the bluffs, where it faces long-term erosion problems. The line would be relocated inland, but would tunnel under the upscale community of Del Mar — and resident objections to tunnels that would pass under their houses have led the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, to back away from not only the two options it had previously cited, but an earlier group of five potential routes.
“Back in 2017, we said there’s five lines on a map,” Robin Wagner, SANDAG marketing and communications manager, told a recent community meeting, according to the Union-Tribune. “A few years later, we did an analysis and said, Ok, now we’ve got two lines on a map. And then we came back this year and said, no, nothing is decided, we’ve got a whole bunch of lines on a map.” The organization’s planners are listening to more community input and doing more analysis, and won’t be choosing a final alignment any time soon.
The Del Mar City Council has called for the tunnel to follow the route of Interstate 5 and pass beneath the Del Mar Fairgrounds, away from more residential areais, but the association which runs the fairgrounds opposes taking the rail lines through that state-owned property. SANDAG said its study found an alignment through the fairgrounds is not feasible.
SANDAG received $300 million in state funding last year to begin planning for the tunnel project [see “San Diego planning agency accepts funds …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 12, 2022]. But the project itself has been estimated to cost up to $4 billion. The agency continues to contend that final design on the tunnel could begin in 2026, with constriction starting in 2028. But those dates seem optimistic given the current number of route options — and the likelihood of legal action by Del Mar or residents regardless of the final decision.
SANDAG information on the project is available here.
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