Economy

Concrete To Replace Wooden Trestles Bridge At San Onofre

By Ed Joyce / Reporter

Published August 31, 2010 at 10:57 AM PDT

This story was published more than 13 years ago.

Salt Air, Fires, Vandalism Take Toll On 70-Year-Old Structure

The wooden trestles that have given the surf break at San Onofre State beach its name are being replaced with a reinforced concrete structure. Construction starts soon on the project to replace the wooden trestles bridge.

SANDAG Senior Engineer Ramon Ruelas said the new bridge will increase safety on the second busiest rail corridor in the United States.

The railway bridge is used by Amtrak, Metrolink and Burlington Northern. About 45 trains cross the bridge every day.

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Ruelas said salt air, fires and vandalism have taken a toll on the wooden bridge. He said beachgoers will have a pathway under the bridge to access the beach during construction.

"We may have to move them from one area underneath the bridge to another area," said Ruelas. "But getting to and from the beach is never going to be a problem for people wanting to gain access to the beach."

Ruelas said crews will stop work to protect the California Gnatcatcher and other birds during nesting season in February. The work will resume the following September.

The $12-million project is funded with federal stimulus funds and will provide about 150 temporary jobs.

The project is expected to be completed by early 2012.

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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