MAX Green Line
Encyclopedia
The MAX Green Line is a light rail
route in the MAX Light Rail system in Portland, Oregon
, United States
, extending to Clackamas, Oregon
. Construction began in early 2007, and the line opened on September 12, 2009. The average daily ridership in June 2010 was 19,500 increasing to 23,200 by April 2011.
The alignment passes under the Burnside St., Stark St., Washington St., Main St. (pedestrian) and Market St. overpasses on the east side of the freeway, then crosses under the freeway between the Market St. and Division St. overpasses. It passes under Division St. overpass before going over Powell Blvd. and then under the Holgate Blvd. overpass. It then passes under the Steele St. (ped.) overpass and over Harold St., Foster Rd., Woodstock Blvd., and Springwater corridor. The line then crosses Johnson Creek before an at-grade crossing at Flavel St. The line passes over 92nd Ave. and Crystal Springs Blvd. (intersection included). Then the line passes over Johnson Creek Blvd. and under the Otty Rd. and Monterey Ave. overpasses. The terminus for the I-205 Light Rail Project is at Clackamas Town Center Transit Center, near the Sunnyside Rd. overpass. Much of this segment parallels the I-205 Bike Path
.
Connecting the two new sections is the following previously existing section:
. The project received $32 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
, an amount already committed to by the federal government but made available so that TriMet
could retire debt earlier.
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
route in the MAX Light Rail system in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, extending to Clackamas, Oregon
Clackamas, Oregon
Clackamas was a census-designated place in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. The population was 5,177 at the 2000 census. It is a suburb of Portland, Oregon.It is the location of Camp Withycombe, a military base...
. Construction began in early 2007, and the line opened on September 12, 2009. The average daily ridership in June 2010 was 19,500 increasing to 23,200 by April 2011.
Project details
The Green Line runs over a combination of existing and new tracks. New tracks were built in two projects:- Portland Mall Revitalization Project: Added light rail tracks to the Portland Transit MallPortland Transit MallThe Portland Transit Mall is a set of public transit corridors through the center of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. More specifically, it is a pair of one-way streets—one for northbound traffic, the other for southbound—along which two of the three lanes are restricted to...
on both Fifth and Sixth Avenues between Portland State UniversityPortland State UniversityPortland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
and Union StationUnion Station (Portland)Union Station is a train station near the west shore of the Willamette River in the Old Town Chinatown section of Portland, Oregon, United States....
, along with tracks connecting this section to previously existing tracks on the west deck of the Steel BridgeSteel BridgeThe Steel Bridge is a through truss, double lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic and light rail , making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world...
, a total length of 1.8 miles (2.9 km). The project was born of the need to relieve congestion on the existing downtown PortlandDowntown PortlandDowntown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....
MAX alignment on Yamhill and Morrison Streets. The new Portland Mall tracks first came on August 30, 2009, by the MAX Yellow LineMAX Yellow LineThe MAX Yellow Line is a 5.8-mile route in the Metropolitan Area Express light rail system in Portland, Oregon. The route, which opened May 1, 2004, runs between Portland State University , in downtown Portland, and the Portland Expo Center...
, but the Green Line opened for service just 13 days later and also runs on this new alignment.
- I-205 Light Rail Project: Added a new 6.5 miles (10.5 km) alignment between Gateway Transit Center and a new transit center at Clackamas Town CenterClackamas Town CenterClackamas Town Center is a shopping mall in Clackamas, Oregon . It opened in 1981. It is managed and co-owned by General Growth Properties and is currently anchored by J.C. Penney, Macy's , Nordstrom, and Sears...
. The majority of this route uses the grade-separated, previously-unfinished I-205 TransitwayI-205 TransitwayThe I-205 Transitway was a partially built busway along the wide right-of-way of the Interstate 205 freeway in Portland, Oregon. Although it never opened as a busway, its right-of-way is now in use by light rail lines....
built at the time Interstate 205Interstate 205 (Oregon-Washington)Interstate 205 is a loop route that serves the Portland—Vancouver metropolitan area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. I-205 is officially named the War Veterans Memorial Freeway, and is also known as the East Portland Freeway...
was constructed, in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
I-205 Bike Path
The I-205 Bike Path is a bicycle and pedestrian trail running along Interstate 205 from Vancouver, Washington to Oregon City, Oregon, United States. It parallels the highway and the I-205 Transitway. It has a paved surface...
.
Connecting the two new sections is the following previously existing section:
- Banfield-Burnside Eastside MAX: Between the west end of the Steel BridgeSteel BridgeThe Steel Bridge is a through truss, double lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic and light rail , making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world...
, at the edge of downtown PortlandDowntown PortlandDowntown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....
, and the Gateway Transit Center, the Green Line uses a portion of the original MAX alignment, completed in 1986 and which is now part of the Blue LineMAX Blue LineThe MAX Blue Line is a 33 mile light rail line in the MAX Light Rail system in the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet, the line runs between Hillsboro and Gresham, via downtown Portland...
. The Red LineMAX Red LineThe MAX Red Line is a route in the Metropolitan Area Express light rail system in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. It is 25.5 miles long...
has also used the same section since its opening, in 2001.
Finances
The MAX Green Line project cost $575.7 million, $345.4 million of which was funded by the Federal Transit AdministrationFederal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...
. The project received $32 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
, an amount already committed to by the federal government but made available so that TriMet
TriMet
TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...
could retire debt earlier.
External links
- MAX Green Line Project History (brief summary) on TriMet website.