The project adds 1.8 miles of new passing siding railroad track between the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Metrolink Station and Trabuco Creek in San Juan Capistrano. The passing siding track will run adjacent to the existing track, allowing trains traveling in opposite directions to pass each other without stopping. When complete, it will reduce delays, increase safety and provide more reliable rail service on the Los Angeles-San Diego San Louis Obispo rail corridor, also known as LOSSAN.
The HNTB design and engineering team — led by Graham Christie, PE, HNTB Southern California rail leader and associate vice president — prepared the final design for the passing siding, roadway improvements and associated structures. Throughout the project, the firm developed innovative solutions to reduce construction costs, avoid significant utility relocations, and minimize impacts to railroad operations. Other improvements include relocating a spur track; improving the private crossing from Camino Capistrano to Saddleback Rancho Capistrano; and reprofiling approximately 600 feet of Camino Capistrano to improve roadway safety.
Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2019 and anticipated to take up to two years to complete.
“By working collaboratively with OCTA staff and key project stakeholders, including Metrolink, the HNTB team is delivering a cutting-edge rail solution for Southern California,” Christie said. “We’re proud of our work designing the improvements for this important infrastructure upgrade and are excited to see this project through construction.”
In Southern California, HNTB is involved in numerous high-profile rail projects, including the newly opened Metrolink Burbank Airport North train station; OCTA’s Anaheim Canyon Station project, which involves the construction of a second station track and platform to allow more than one train to serve the station and/or pass through the station area at a time; the Brighton to Roxford Double Track Project by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority that adds a second main line track to an approximately 11-mile single track transportation corridor in east San Fernando Valley; and the LOSSAN corridor double-track projects for the San Diego Association of Governments, including Batiquitos Lagoon; North Oceanside; San Dieguito Double Track and Special Events Platform; and North County Transit District, Positive Train Control safety system. The projects encompass planning, environmental, drainage, track design, civil engineering and positive train control integration.
As trusted adviser and provider of innovative rail and transit solutions to the nation’s largest transit authorities, HNTB’s expertise spans many of the most complex and innovative transit projects in the country. Encompassing every component of rail transportation systems, projects include the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project; LA Metro Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2; Seattle’s Sound Transit East Link, Lynnwood Link and Ballard Link Extensions; Central Florida’s SunRail commuter rail project; San Francisco BART Station Airport Extension Line, Track and Systems; and MARTA Atlanta Transit Expansion project, among others.
About HNTB
HNTB Corporation is an employee-owned infrastructure solutions firm serving public and private owners and contractors. Celebrating 105 years of service in the United States and California, HNTB continues to grow in size and service offerings to clients from eight office locations in the state that employ approximately 320 full-time California professionals. HNTB understands the life cycle of infrastructure and addresses clients’ most complex technical, financial and operational challenges. Professionals nationwide deliver a full range of infrastructure-related services, including award-winning planning, design, program management and construction management. For more information, visit www.hntb.com.
