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Southwest Corridor (TriMet)

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Southwest Corridor
Overview
OwnerTriMet
LocalePortland, Oregon, U.S.
Termini
Stations14
WebsiteSW Corridor Light Rail Project
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemMAX Light Rail
Operator(s)TriMet
History
Openedproposed
Technical
Number of tracks2
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 750 V DC

The Southwest Corridor is a proposed public transportation rail line in and near Portland, Oregon for TriMet's MAX Light Rail.[1][2]

TriMet has not yet decided whether or not the line would be a new line or an extension of the Green Line.

History

[edit]

The Portland metropolitan area's regional government, Metro, adopted its 2035 Regional Transportaton Plan in June 2010 where it identified a segment of OR 99W between Portland and Sherwood as the region's next highest-priority "high-capacity transit" corridor.[3]: 2–46 [4]: 1  In January 2011, The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) granted Metro $2 million to begin studying the formally named "Southwest Corridor". The funds focused on the assessment of various mode alternatives, including light rail, commuter rail, streetcar, and bus rapid transit.[5] The Southwest Corridor Plan officially launched that September, formalizing the development of a unified transportation plan between the involved communities and jurisdictions.[4]: 1  In June 2013, the project steering committee selected light rail and bus rapid transit as the alternatives for further consideration.[6]: 2  Citing a lack of present and future demand, the steering committee eliminated further planning using the alternatives to Sherwood. They also rerouted the proposed alignment in Tigard through the Tigard Triangle in response to local opposition to the removal of auto lanes from OR 99W.[7]: 3 

In June 2014, the steering committee determined a refined route for further study that ran from the southern end of the Portland Transit Mall in downtown Portland to just east of Tualatin station in downtown Tualatin;[8]: 6–7  this route was later shortened to terminate at Bridgeport Village.[9] The following year, proposals to serve Marquam Hill and Hillsdale with tunnels were dropped from the plan because they would be too costly, have severe construction impacts, and attract few new transit riders.[10][11] In May 2016, the steering committee selected light rail as the preferred mode alternative over bus rapid transit. They also removed a tunnel to PCC Sylvania from further consideration.[12][13] After passing a measure requiring voters to approve the construction of any high-capacity transit built within city limits,[14] Tigard voters approved the light rail extension the following September.[15]

At an estimated cost of $2.6 billion to $2.9 billion,[16] the project was included in a regional transportation funding measure called "Get Moving 2020".[17][18] In light of a budget gap of $462 million, planners proposed reducing lanes on Barbur Boulevard and shortening the line's route to terminate in downtown Tigard. Both proposals were rejected in November 2019. Private negotiations, as well as Metro's approval to increase the project's requested budget by $125 million in the 2020 ballot measure, reduced the budget gap to around $100 million.[19] On November 3, 2020, voters rejected the measure.[20][21][22] Had it been approved, the extension would have begun construction in 2022 and opened by 2027. It had been expected to serve approximately 37,500 riders by 2035.[23]

Proposed route

[edit]

The proposed route stretches from:

The rail line would go through the cities of Tigard and Tualatin.

Stations

[edit]

TriMet proposes stations at:[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b TriMet. "Portland to Tualatin in 30 Minutes: Designing the Next MAX Line". trimet.org. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  2. ^ "Southwest Corridor Plan". Metro. 2021-07-01. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  3. ^ 2035 Regional Transportation Plan (PDF) (Report). Metro. June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Southwest Corridor Plan Scoping public involvement report" (PDF). Metro. February 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  5. ^ Florip, Eric (January 8, 2011). "Grant will boost study of public transit options". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via NewsBank.
  6. ^ "Southwest Corridor Winter 2014 project update" (PDF). Metro. December 1, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  7. ^ Southwest Corridor Plan Evaluation Report Transit, Roadway, Active Transportation (PDF) (Report). Metro. June 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  8. ^ Recommendations on Southwest corridor high capacity transit design options, complementary multimodal projects and potential station locations for further study (Report). Metro. June 9, 2014. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  9. ^ Southwest Corridor November 2018 preferred alternative (Map). TriMet. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  10. ^ Beebe, Craig (July 13, 2015). "Southwest Corridor leaders drop Marquam Hill/Hillsdale tunnels, leave door open on Sylvania option". Metro. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  11. ^ Tims, Dana (July 14, 2015). "No deep tunnel for OHSU: Southwest Corridor plan". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  12. ^ Beebe, Craig (May 10, 2016). "Leaders decide: Light rail for Portland to Bridgeport Village, no PCC tunnel". Metro. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  13. ^ Njus, Elliot (May 9, 2016). "Committee picks light rail for SW Corridor transit project". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on May 10, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  14. ^ Nirappil, Fenit (June 5, 2013). "Proposal wants to give Tigard voters a transit veto". The Oregonian.
  15. ^ Hammond, Betsy (November 16, 2016). "Tigard voters say 'yes' to light rail -- by just 130 votes". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018.
  16. ^ Mesh, Aaron (June 13, 2018). "The Price Tag on Light Rail to Bridgeport Village Has Grown by Nearly a Billion Dollars". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  17. ^ "Proposed Measure 26-218: "Get Moving 2020"". Metro. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  18. ^ Monahan, Rachel (January 25, 2019). "Poll for a Metrowide 2020 Transportation Ballot Initiative Shows Solid Support for Several Billion Dollar Investment". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  19. ^ Gallagher, Bill (November 5, 2019). "SW light-rail plan: Neither shorter, nor skinnier". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on November 6, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  20. ^ "Portland-area voters decline Measure 26-218". Metro. November 3, 2020. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  21. ^ Theen, Andrew (November 3, 2020). "Voters reject Metro's payroll tax to fund billions in transportation projects". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  22. ^ Monahan, Rachel (November 3, 2020). "After a Bitter Campaign, Metro Transportation Measure Fails". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  23. ^ "Southwest Corridor Light Rail Project (Factsheet)" (PDF). TriMet. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
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