Caltrans and San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) construction crews will resume work within the Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad as part of a double-track project after taking a pause for the peak California Least Tern nesting season, it was announced Tuesday.
Most of the endangered terns have migrated for the winter, freeing up the lagoon for work.
When work within the lagoon resumes, crews will focus on track construction between La Costa Avenue and Avenida Encinas with the goal of moving the existing track alignment over to the newly constructed concrete double-track rail bridge in late 2026, according to a statement from SANDAG.
Once train traffic is moved onto the new alignment, crews will work to remove the existing track on the wooden trestle bridge, remove and replace erosion protection, and demolish the existing wooden trestle bridge.
The majority of work is scheduled Monday through Friday between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., with occasional weekend work planned. Some intermittent night work may also be required when rail service is temporarily shut down.
The Batiquitos Lagoon Double Track Project is intended to "increase the reliability, operational flexibility, and capacity of the LOSSAN rail corridor by adding a second track from Avenida Encinas in Carlsbad to La Costa Avenue in Encinitas across the Batiquitos Lagoon" which will allow trains to continue traveling without slowing down or stopping.
The project will also replace the existing 80-year-old wooden trestle bridge with a modern, double-track steel and concrete structure.
California Least Terns are a subspecies of least terns, small migratory birds who feed and raise their young near estuaries and salt flats. In the Batiquitos Lagoon — a protected 610-acre coastal wetland and marine conservation area — the birds have dense nesting colonies near the mouth of the lagoon where it reaches the ocean at South Ponto Beach.
