Located north of the City of Oceanside within the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, the original Santa Margarita River Bridge dated back to 1916.
This project replaced the steel truss single-track railroad bridge across the Santa Margarita River with a new reinforced concrete double-track bridge. Replacement of the bridge with a new bridge constructed with modern materials will substantially reduce future maintenance needs and associated cost.
In addition, adding the second main track provides more operational flexibility by allowing trains to meet and pass, thereby improving schedule reliability. The bridge’s existing timber trestle approach structure also was replaced with a pre-cast box girder trestle approach.
The new double-track rail bridge was opened for service in November 2013 and the project was completed in March 2014.
The new rail bridge is one of many that are being modernized in the LOSSAN corridor as we work to double-track the corridor to improve the reliability and on-time performance of passenger and freight rail on San Diego’s coastal rail line.