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JOHN FALL
SPECIAL TO THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
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| Landscaping at the Southeast Main Street Station and Park & Ride includes hundreds of trees and shrubs. |
| PHOTO BY: John Fall |
Construction along I-205 is more than 70 percent complete, with track laid on the north end of the alignment from Gateway Transit Center to Southeast Flavel Road. All seven light rail bridges are complete. These bridges allow the tracks to cross above Johnson Creek and city streets, allowing traffic to flow uninterrupted for most of the light rail alignment.
The Main Street Station and Park & Ride is nearly complete, with over 200 trees and hundreds of shrubs planted as part of the landscaping. Most shelters have been installed and new sound walls — constructed with material from recycled tires — are being erected at various sites along the trackway.
Eight new stations, four Park & Rides and a four-story parking facility will serve Southeast Portland when MAX Green Line service begins. Park & Ride facilities will be located at stations at Southeast Main Street, Southeast Powell and Holgate boulevards, and Southeast Fuller Road. The 750-space parking garage will be at the Clackamas Town Center Transit Center.
TriMet bus service will stop at seven of the new stations. To efficiently coordinate bus service with the new light rail schedule, rerouting of a few bus lines is under consideration. TriMet will host open houses along the alignment this winter so the public can comment on any proposed bus line changes.
Riders transferring from MAX Red or Blue trains or from buses at Gateway Transit Center will be able to continue on the Green Line to Clackamas Town Center, where buses will connect with Kaiser Sunnyside, Happy Valley, Milwaukie and Oregon City. The addition of Green Line trains to the Banfield alignment along I-84 means trains between Gateway and Rose Quarter transit centers will arrive every three minutes on average during peak hours and every five minutes on average during off-peak hours.
The project goes beyond creating new transit alternatives for Mid-county and Southeast Portland — it also gives back to local and regional communities. Basalt rock excavated from the alignment has been donated to Ed Benedict Park, Southeast 100th Avenue and Powell Boulevard, for a new city skate park and to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife for use in parks and habitat.
In addition, neighborhood children are now enjoying a new and larger playground. South Corridor Constructors, TriMet’s prime contractor for I-205 light rail construction, donated over $30,000, volunteer time and materials to Kelly Elementary in Southeast Portland last summer to replace an aging playground.
With construction proceeding on schedule, the future MAX Green Line will be ready to carry riders between Clackamas Town Center and Portland State University in less than a year from now.
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