MAX Yellow Line

MAX Yellow Line
A two-car train in downtown Portland
Overview
Type	Light rail
System	MAX Light Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Termini	Expo Center (north) Portland State University (in downtown Portland) (south)
Stations	17
Daily ridership	13,270 (as of May 2018)[1]
Website	MAX Yellow Line
Operation
Opened	May 1, 2004 (2004-05-01)
Owner	TriMet
Operator(s)	TriMet
Character	At-grade and grade-separated
Technical
Line length	7.6 mi (12.2 km)[2][3]
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC, overhead catenary
Route diagram Expo Center Delta Park/Vanport Kenton/N Denver Ave N Lombard TC Rosa Parks N Killingsworth St N Prescott St Overlook Park I-405 Albina/Mississippi Interstate/Rose Quarter ■ Blue Line to Gresham ■ Red Line to Airport ■ Green Line   Steel Bridge over Willamette River ■ Blue Line ■ Red Line   Most southbound Yellow Line trains become Orange Line   Union Station Amtrak NW 5th & Couch St NW 6th & Davis St SW 5th & Oak St SW 6th & Pine St ■ Blue Line to Hillsboro ■ Red Line to Beaverton TC Pioneer Place Pioneer Courthouse ■ Blue Line from Hillsboro ■ Red Line from Beaverton TC City Hall/SW 5th & Jefferson St SW 6th & Madison St  B  Loop &  NS  Line PSU Urban Center/ SW 5th & Mill St  A  Loop &  NS  Line PSU Urban Center/ SW 6th & Montgomery St PSU South/SW 5th & Jackson St PSU South/SW 6th & College St ■ Green Line Terminus Most northbound Orange Line trains become Yellow Line ■ Orange Line to Milwaukie/Main St

The MAX Yellow Line is a 7.6-mile (12.2 km) route in the Metropolitan Area Express light rail system in Portland, Oregon. The route, which opened May 1, 2004,^[4] runs between Portland State University (PSU), in downtown Portland, and the Portland Expo Center. It is also known as the Interstate MAX because the majority of the line runs along Interstate Avenue in North Portland. The length of the line that was built new is 5.8 mi (9.3 km),^[2] and the remainder of the line uses tracks previously existing for other lines. In 2009, the Yellow Line's routing within downtown was changed, from one that had followed the route of the Blue and Red Lines to a newly built alignment along the Portland Transit Mall which the Yellow Line was the first MAX line to serve.

History

The Yellow Line was originally conceived as part of a north–south light rail project between Vancouver, Washington, and Clackamas Town Center via Milwaukie. In November 1994, "nearly two-thirds"^[5] of voters in the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area voted in support of a $475 million bond issue to provide the local-area share (Oregon portion) of the project's estimated $2.8 billion cost.^[5] However, three months later, a majority of voters in Clark County, Washington, rejected a 0.3 percent sales tax and vehicle excise tax that would have provided that county's $237.5 million share of the South-North project's funding.^[6][7] In 1999, a group of Portland business leaders urged TriMet to revive the proposal's northern portion, but without the Clark County section.^[8][9] Ultimately, TriMet agreed to design a plan to build this new line without need for a significant new source of local funding. To do this, they convinced the City of Portland to create an urban renewal district along the proposed line, which made them eligible for matching federal funds with which they could finance the construction of the MAX line.

Construction of the project began in 2002 and was completed on May 1, 2004, four months ahead of schedule,^[10] at a cost of $350 million, $25 million under budget.^[4] The presence of the line has also caused a great deal of redevelopment along its corridor.^[11] The line originally followed First Avenue and Morrison and Yamhill streets in downtown, terminating at Galleria/Southwest 10th Avenue station. However, on August 30, 2009, it was rerouted to use new tracks on the rebuilt Portland Transit Mall and now ends at PSU.^[12]

Proposed extensions

There have been plans for extensions at both ends. The Portland–Milwaukie Light Rail project extended the MAX system from the current PSU terminus, on the Portland Transit Mall couplet, across the Willamette River east via the Tilikum Crossing, then southward to Milwaukie via a Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way and SE McLoughlin Boulevard. Though planned as a Yellow Line extension, it opened on September 12, 2015 as the Orange Line.

In current service, the Yellow Line is partially interlined with the Orange Line. Upon arrival at Union Station, southbound Yellow Line trains become Orange Line trains, then travel the length of the Transit Mall, and continue south to Milwaukie. In the reverse direction, northbound Orange Line trains become Yellow Line trains upon arrival at the PSU South stations. Some Orange Line trains terminate at Union Station during peak hours. This is due to higher projected ridership along the Orange Line than the Yellow Line.^[13]

The Columbia River Crossing project would have extended the Yellow Line north from Expo Center across the Columbia River to Clark College via Interstate 5, Washington/Broadway Street couplet, and East McLoughlin Blvd. Stops would have served Hayden Island and Vancouver, Washington.

Route

The Yellow Line begins in downtown Portland as a through-routed continuation of the Orange Line, which travels southeast towards Milwaukie. The Yellow Line takes over at PSU South/Southwest 6th and College Street station on the Portland State University campus, traveling northbound on 6th Avenue on the Portland Transit Mall alongside eastbound Green Line trains bound for Clackamas. At the north end of the PSU campus, the Transit Mall crosses with the Portland Streetcar, which serves a stop at Mill Street, and the light rail tracks move into the center lane of 6th Avenue between stations. The Yellow Line passes the Portland City Hall and the Multnomah County Courthouse before reaching Pioneer Courthouse Square, where it intersects the east–west section of the Blue and Red lines.

Stations

Station	Opened	Connections[14][15]	Park and ride[16]	Secure bike parking[17]
Portland
Expo Center	2004	11	300 spaces	Yes
Delta Park/Vanport	2004	6 C-Tran	304 spaces	Yes
	2004	4	—	Yes
North Lombard Transit Center	2004	4, 75	—	Yes
Rosa Parks	2004	44	—	Yes
	2004	72	—	Yes
	2004	—	—	Yes
	2004	—	—	Yes
	2004	35, 85	—	Yes
	2004	4, 8, 35, 44, 77, 85 C-Tran	—	No
Portland Transit Mall (northbound)
Union Station/Northwest 6th & Hoyt Street	2009		—	No
Northwest 6th & Davis Street	2009		—	No
Southwest 6th & Pine Street	2009		—	No
Pioneer Courthouse/Southwest 6th	2009	1, 8, 9, 12, 17, 19, 94	—	No
Southwest 6th & Madison Street	2009		—	No
PSU Urban Center/Southwest 6th & Montgomery Street	2009		—	No
PSU South/Southwest 6th and College Street	2009		—	No

Public art

Public art installed along the Yellow Line include:^[18]

• Cultural Polyrhythms (Adriene Cruz, 2004)
• Icons of Transformation (Fernanda D'Agostino, 2004)
• Propform (Prescott Biozone, 2004)
• Prowform (Brian Borrello and Valerie Otani, 2004)
• River Spirits (Ainsworth Greenspace, 2004)
• Second Growth (Wayne Chabre, 2004)
• Silicon Forest (Brian Borrello, 2004)
• Voices of Remembrance (Valerie Otani, 2004)
• Waterline

References

External links

• TriMet homepage
• Interstate MAX Yellow Line Project History (brief summary) on TriMet website