El Portal Pedestrian and Bicycle Rail Undercrossing

The new undercrossing is the first safe and legal pedestrian and bicycle crossing of the busy Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo rail corridor along a 2.5-mile stretch between Leucadia Boulevard and Encinitas Boulevard. It connects residents on the west to the local elementary school across the street while providing passage to eastern residents to reach businesses and the beach to the west. 

The underpass is a 61-foot-long, 3-span bridge with precast/prestressed slab girders. Accelerated bridge construction techniques allowed the entire structure to be installed in a one-weekend railroad closure without compromising safety or constructability.  

Aesthetics played an integral part in the design. The retaining walls were designed with an architectural form liner. They included provisions for the future installation of mosaic tiles to be created by a local artist in cooperation with students from the local elementary school.  

Project Highlights:

• TYLin provided final design, bid support, and design services during construction.   

• The accelerated bridge design conformed to the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association and California Department of Transportation Seismic Design Criteria codes. 

• In addition to the public art component, the project included significant community outreach.  

• The rail corridor accommodates the North County Transit District, Amtrak, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Trains. 

• Before the project, frequent dangerous and illegal crossings of the formerly unbroken rail corridor occurred. 

• TYLin completed the project on an accelerated schedule to meet funding requirements.