Construction crews are scheduled to begin work next Tuesday on a retaining wall to protect trains from landslides north of the San Clemente Pier in Orange County.
Officials from the Orange County Transportation Authority and Metrolink said they expect the wall to be completed by late March, providing rain does not cause disruption.
Initial designs call for a structure 10 to 15 feet tall and 160 feet long, supported by steel beams, each about 30 feet deep.
Passenger traffic on Amtrak and Metrolink trains was halted on Jan. 24, though freight trains were allowed to continue at 10 mph. However, freight traffic is now also halted because of recent movement of soil and debris.
The line is the only rail link from San Diego to the rest of the country, and is considered especially important to supply the Navy and Marines with heavy equipment.
Over the past three years, Southern California’s eroding bluffs have repeatedly forced the closure of the rail line which had operated largely uninterrupted for more than 125 years.