MAX Blue Line

Background and early freeway proposals

In the early 20th century, privately-funded inter-urban railways gave Portland one of the largest urban rail systems in the American West, including lines that once extended eastwards from Forest Grove and Hillsboro to Gresham and Troutdale.^[2] In 1912, as the city's population exceeded 250,000, transit ridership rose to 70 million passengers annually.^[3] By the 1920s, streetcars started to decline in line with the rise of the automobile and suburban and freeway development.^[4] The Portland area's last two inter-urban lines, which went to Oregon City and Bellrose (Southeast 136th Avenue), ceased operation in 1958.^[5][6]

An Oregon Electric train seen in Beaverton

In 1955, the Oregon State Highway Department laid out the freeway development plan for the Portland metropolitan area, proposing the construction of the Mount Hood Freeway and Interstate 505.^[7] The Mount Hood Freeway was a planned eight-lane section of Interstate 84 that would have traversed Division Street and Powell Boulevard in Southeast Portland, connecting Interstate 5 from the Marquam Bridge to eastern Multnomah County.^[8][9] Citizen protests and two other factors led to the eventual cancellation of the Mount Hood Freeway project. In 1973, an environmental impact study conducted by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill declared that the freeway would reach obsolescence by the time it was completed and would add more traffic to downtown Portland than the surface streets could handle.^[9][10] Then, in February 1974, district judge James M. Burns formally rejected the plan, ruling that the corridor selection process failed to follow the correct procedures.^[11][10] Amid mounting anti-freeway sentiment and further delays to the project, in July 1974, Portland City Council voted 4-to-1 to abandon the plan, and county and state authorities followed shortly after.^[12]

At the same time, residents in Northwest Portland opposed Interstate 505.^[13] In 1971, the city council voted to approve the spur route, initially backed by the Northwest District Association (NWDA), which saw it as a barrier to industrial encroachment.^[14] Following a suspect environmental impact study, organizers from the Willamette Heights Neighborhood Association filed a class action in U.S. district court to halt the new freeway's construction, and were later joined by the NWDA.^[14][15] Several years of drawn-out litigation ensued, keeping the project on hiatus. In December 1978, the city council withdrew its support for the proposal; this decision was backed by Governor Vic Atiyeh in 1979. After its removal from Oregon's interstate plan, $15 million of its funds was reallocated to the Banfield project.^[16]

Banfield light rail project

The passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act in 1973 allowed state governments for the first time to transfer federal funds from canceled highway projects to other transportation options, including mass transit.^[12] In May 1973, Governor Tom McCall assembled a task force to determine potential alternative uses for transferred freeway funds, and in April 1974, he released a preliminary draft listing light rail and buses as modes under consideration.^[17] The Oregon Public Utility Commission also proposed a regional light rail system using existing railroad rights of way, while Goldschmidt persuaded the Columbia Region Association of Governments (CRAG) board to channel the transfer funds towards improving access to downtown Portland.^[12]

Redecking work on the Glisan Street ramp of the Steel Bridge in 1985

With the freeway plans canceled, $500 million of federal assistance became available and were used on other transportation projects throughout the region, including $60 million allocated to the Banfield transit corridor.^[18] The proposed transitway was originally conceived of as a busway but support for light rail on the corridor grew following the release of an environmental impact study in 1977.^[19][20] In 1978, the cities Portland and Gresham, Multnomah County, CRAG, the Oregon Department of Transportation, and Tri-Met adopted a resolution supporting a combined Banfield light rail and highway expansion plan.^[19][21] Tri-Met selected Wilbur Smith Associates to produce the engineering plans. In June 1979, Portland City Council approved the downtown alignment^[22] and in September 1980, the Banfield light rail project received federal approval for construction.^[23]

An eastbound train seen running along Yamhill Street in downtown Portland in 1991

Light rail alignment and conceptual designs were finalized in November 1981. The original, 27-station line spanned 15.1 miles (24.3 km) from 11th Avenue in downtown Portland to just east of Cleveland Avenue in Gresham.^[23] The stations and overpasses were designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca, which earned the firm a Progressive Architecture Award in 1984.^[24] Anticipating 42,500 riders on the line by 1990, Tri-Met purchased 26 Bombardier light rail vehicles.^[23] On March 26, 1982, the groundbreaking ceremony took place at Ruby Junction Yard, with U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield, Governor Vic Atiyeh, and officials from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) in attendance.^[25] Construction commenced in April 1983 along the Gresham alignment. The Ruby Junction maintenance facility was completed in 1983 and the first rail car arrived in 1984.^[26] In order to minimize costs, light rail and freeway work were done simultaneously.^[25] The alignment crossed the Willamette River on the Steel Bridge, and was one factor that necessitated a $10 million rehabilitation of the bridge from 1984 to 1986.^[27] System testing followed the bridge's reopening in spring 1986.^[26]

On September 5, 1986, the $214 million (equivalent to $955 million in 2016 dollars) Banfield light rail—now Metropolitan Area Express (MAX)—opened for service. Federal transfer funds provided $178.3 million, 83 percent of the budget;^[20] the project was completed $10 million under budget.^[24] Its new name was selected through a public contest; the winning suggestion was made by Tri-Met designer Jeff Frane, who attributed inspiration to his son, Alex.^[28] Opening celebrations spanned three days and were attended by an estimated 250,000 people.^[24] Initially projected to carry 12,000 riders per day, the MAX averaged around 18,000 by December 1986. Downtown retailers, many of whom had opposed the system, reported substantial increases in sales following the line's opening.^[29]

Early planning and delays

Planning for the restoration of services between downtown Portland and Hillsboro—formerly served by the Oregon Electric Railway (OE)—began in 1979 with a proposed route initially terminating at 185th Avenue and Walker Road.^[30][31] In 1983, Metro—the successor to CRAG—and local jurisdictions selected light rail as the preferred mode alternative and UMTA released funds to begin preliminary engineering work later that year.^[31] The project, however, was suspended by Tri-Met to make way for the Banfield light rail's construction and further planning did not commence until 1988.^[32]

The railway crossing on 185th Avenue in 1995 prior to the start of construction

By the time the project was restarted, significant changes in the westside corridor warranted a re-evaluation of the previously adopted plan. In particular, between 1980 and 1984, 3,000 acres (12,140,569.3 m²) of vacant Washington County land had been converted into mixed-use urban areas, spurring new development in Hillsboro that stood well above the regional average.^[31] In 1985, newly appointed Hillsboro Mayor Shirley Huffman began lobbying for the line's extension to downtown Hillsboro; she traveled frequently to Washington, D.C. to persuade Congress and infamously made a "stern" telephone call to the head of UMTA in 1990.^[33] The efforts of Huffman and others led to the preparation of a supplemental study in 1991^[31] and in July 1993,^[34] Tri-Met approved an extension of the line 6.2 miles (10 km) farther west, bringing the total distance of the extension to 18 miles (29 km).^[35]

Funding and construction

The east end of the Robertson Tunnel in 2007

Funding for the Westside MAX proved difficult under the Reagan Administration, which sought to reduce federal expenditures by delaying existing light rail projects and declining federal approval for future planning.^[36] As members of their respective appropriations committees, U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield and U.S. Representative Les AuCoin secured preliminary engineering and environmental review grants in 1989 by denying funding for the head of UMTA's office.^[37][38] In 1990, voters approved a $125-million ballot measure to fund the line's construction, the region's first successful vote approving public transit. Under new leadership, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)—the new name for UMTA—completed the funding package in 1992 by granting $516 million to build the line up to 185th Avenue, which was projected to open in September 1997. It provided an additional $113 million in 1994 following the approval of the Hillsboro extension.^[39]

Construction of the Westside MAX began in August 1993,^[40] with the excavation of the 21-foot-diameter (6.4 m) Robertson Tunnel,^[32] one of the most complex segments during planning. Several alternative alignments through the West Hills were studied, including an all-surface option along the Sunset Highway (U.S. 26), an option with a half-mile-long (0.8 km) "short tunnel", and an option with a three-mile (4.8 km) "long tunnel".^[41][42] Tri-Met chose the "long tunnel" in April 1991.^[43]The project's general contractor, Frontier-Traylor, a joint-venture of Frontier-Kemper Constructors and Traylor Brothers,^[44] used conventional drilling and blasting techniques to dig through the west end.^[32] On the east segment, a 278-foot (85 m) tunnel boring machine was used to drill for two miles.^[45] Highly-fragmented rock initially made the machine excavation difficult, delaying the project for nine months.^[45] In August 1995, Tri-Met postponed the extension's planned opening to 185th Avenue by one year to September 1998.^[46] In 1996, a large maintenance facility near the Elmonica/SW 170th Avenue station was opened.^[47] The final rail spike was driven on Hillsboro's Main Street Bridge and the tunnel was completed in October 1997.^[48] Final testing followed the completion of track signals and power installation in June 1998.^[49]

Opening

On August 31, 1997, the Westside MAX opened its first section, a two-station extension west to Kings Hill/SW Salmon Street station,^[50] in conjunction with the entry into service of North America's first low-floor light rail cars.^[51] Grand opening celebrations for the entire $963.5 million (equivalent to $1.36 billion in 2016 dollars) line took place on September 12, 1998.^[48] Ceremonies were held at Gresham City Hall, Civic Stadium, Beaverton Creek, and Hillsboro Government Center stations; speeches were delivered by local and regional dignitaries, former Governor and U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield, Governor John Kitzhaber, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater, and Vice President Al Gore.^[52] The line immediately drew strong ridership, exceeding projections for 2005 less than two years after it opened.^[53] In September 2000, with the opening of the Airport MAX extension less than a year away, Tri-Met adopted a color coding scheme to differentiate its trains from those operating between Hillsboro and Gresham, assigning blue as the eastside and westside lines' color designation,^[54] a line-identification system that was adopted shortly before the Red Line's opening in 2001.^[55]

Stations

The westbound platform of Washington Park station

Civic Drive station, the newest station on the Blue Line, built in 2010

The Blue Line is served by 51 stations. The original section between Gresham and downtown Portland was built with 27 stations.^[23] The Mall and Southwest 4th & 5th stations were added along with the opening of Pioneer Place in March 1990,^[67] followed by the Convention Center station in September.^[68] The Westside MAX opened in two stages due to delays in construction.^[46] The first two stations, Civic Stadium—now Providence Park—and Kings Hill/Southwest Salmon Street opened in August 1997. The remaining 18 stations opened during the extension's inauguration in September 1998.^[48] The newest station is Civic Drive, which was completed in 2010.^[69]

Nearly all stations along the Blue Line are at-grade, the exceptions being Washington Park station—the only underground station within the Robertson Tunnel and the deepest transit station in North America at 260 feet (79 m) below the ground—and Sunset Transit Center.^[32]

Station	Opened	Transfers[70]	Connections[70][71][72]	Park and ride[73]	Secure bike parking[74]
Hillsboro
Hatfield Government Center	1998	—	—	250 spaces	Yes
Hillsboro Central/Southeast 3rd Avenue Transit Center	1998	—	46, 47, 48, 57 YCTA[75]	—	Yes
Tuality Hospital/Southeast 8th Avenue	1998	—	—	85 spaces	Yes
Washington/Southeast 12th Avenue	1998	—	—	—	Yes
Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport	1998	—	46	396 spaces	Yes
Hawthorn Farm	1998	—	—	—	Yes
Orenco	1998	—	47	125 spaces	Yes
Quatama	1998	—	—	310 spaces	Yes
Willow Creek/Southwest 185th Avenue Transit Center	1998	—	52, 59, 88 CC Rider	595 spaces	Yes
Beaverton
Elmonica/Southwest 170th Avenue	1998	—	—	435 spaces	Yes
Merlo Road/Southwest 158th Avenue	1998	—	67	—	Yes
Beaverton Creek	1998	—	—	417 spaces	Yes
Millikan Way	1998	—	62	400 spaces	Yes
Beaverton Central	1998	—	—	—	Yes
Beaverton Transit Center	1998		WES Commuter Rail 20, 42, 52, 53, 54, 57, 58, 61, 76, 78, 88	—	Yes
Portland
Sunset Transit Center	1998		20, 48, 50, 59, 62 POINT TCTD	622 spaces	Yes
Washington Park	1998		63	—	Yes
Goose Hollow/Southwest Jefferson Street	1998		6, 58, 68	—	No
Kings Hill/Southwest Salmon Street	1997		—	—	No
Providence Park	1997		15, 18, 51, 63	—	Yes
Library/Southwest 9th Avenue (eastbound)	1986		A  Loop,  B  Loop,  NS  Line	—	No
Galleria/Southwest 10th Avenue (westbound)	1986			—	No
Pioneer Square South (eastbound)	1986		Portland Transit Mall	—	No
Pioneer Square North (westbound)	1986			—	No
Mall/Southwest 4th Avenue (eastbound)	1990			—	No
Mall/Southwest 5th Avenue (westbound)	1990			—	No
Yamhill District (eastbound)	1986		—	—	No
Morrison/Southwest 3rd Avenue (westbound)	1986		—	—	No
Oak Street/Southwest 1st Avenue	1986		—	—	No
Skidmore Fountain	1986		—	—	No
Old Town/Chinatown	1986		—	—	No
Rose Quarter Transit Center	1986		4, 8, 44, 77, 85 C-Tran	—	Yes
Convention Center	1990		A  Loop,  B  Loop 6	—	No
Northeast 7th Avenue	1986		A  Loop	—	No
Lloyd Center/Northeast 11th Avenue	1986		8, 70	—	No
Hollywood/Northeast 42nd Avenue Transit Center	1986		66, 75, 77	—	Yes
Northeast 60th Avenue	1986		71	—	Yes
Northeast 82nd Avenue	1986		72, 77	—	Yes
Gateway/Northeast 99th Avenue Transit Center	1986		15, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 87	690 spaces	Yes
East 102nd Avenue	1986	—	15, 20	—	No
East 122nd Avenue	1986	—	73	612 spaces	Yes
East 148th Avenue	1986	—	—	—	No
East 162nd Avenue	1986	—	74	—	No
Gresham
East 172nd Avenue	1986	—	—	—	No
East 181st Avenue	1986	—	25, 87	247 spaces	No
Rockwood/East 188th Avenue	1986	—	20, 25, 87	—	No
Ruby Junction/East 197th Avenue	1986	—	—	—	No
Civic Drive	2010	—	—	—	Yes
Gresham City Hall	1986	—	4, 21, 87	417 spaces	Yes
Gresham Central Transit Center	1986	—	4, 9, 20, 21, 80, 81, 82, 84, 87 SAM	540 spaces	Yes
Cleveland Avenue	1986	—	—	392 spaces	Yes

Ridership

The Blue Line is the busiest of the five light rail lines, carrying 18.9 million passengers in 2015^[20] and averaging 55,360 riders on weekdays in May 2018.^[1] Ridership on the entire MAX system, however, has fallen to just over 77 million passengers since peaking at around 80 million in 2012. In the first three months of 2017, the Blue Line recorded an average 55,233 rides per weekday, a drop of 2.9 percent from the same period in 2016.^[81] TriMet attributes the drop to lower-income riders being forced out of the inner city by rising housing prices.^[82]

Accessibility and safety

A high-floor Bombardier light rail car and a wayside lift seen at Oak Street station in 1987

Stations on the original MAX line were built with wayside lifts to accommodate riders with disabilities on the high-floor, first generation vehicles. The lifts were installed on each station platform, rather than on the trains, to prevent malfunctions from potentially delaying services.^[20] Increased use of the lifts ultimately became the cause of delays.^[32] Additionally, many users felt stigmatized by the lifts' "box" design and time-consuming operation.^[83]

Following the passing into law of the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act of 1990, TriMet began considering changes to enhance accessibility with the submission of a paratransit plan to the FTA in January 1992.^[84] Before the commencement of the Westside MAX project, the MAX became the first light rail system in North America to obtain low-floor vehicles after a TriMet study of European systems.^[32] The first low-floor cars, which were designed by Siemens, entered service in August 1997.^[83]

In 2011, TriMet began upgrading sections of the Blue Line to improve pedestrian safety and compliance with updated ADA standards.^[85] In 2013, pipe barriers were installed at Gateway/Northeast 99th Avenue Transit Center platform crossings to force pedestrians to slow down and face oncoming trains before crossing the tracks. In 2014, TriMet realigned sidewalks and crosswalks at four at-grade crossings in Gresham. Other improvements made throughout the line include pedestrian warning signal installations and tactile paving upgrades.^[86]

Work cited