PORTLAND, Ore. — MAX light rail service resumed at Portland's Gateway Transit Center on Monday following a six week closure, and the reopening also marked the debut of a new track segment and station platform at Gateway that will resolve a bottleneck that often caused systemwide delays, according to TriMet.
The additions are part of a project called A Better Red that also includes rebuilding the Portland International Airport station and resolving another bottleneck nearby, as well as upgrading the Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station to serve as the new western end of the Red Line, extending it out 10 stops beyond its current endpoint at Beaverton Transit Center.
"Today’s opening makes it easier for people to get in and out of PDX quickly," Port of Portland Executive Director Curtis Robinhold said in a statement. "The MAX Red Line improvements are going to bring more accessible, efficient transit to everyone who lives in and visits our region."
The rebuilt PDX airport station debuted late last year, and much of the work on the Fair Complex station has also been finished, although the extended west side Red Line service isn't scheduled to begin until the summer.
“This is the culmination of years of planning and coordination," said Tyler Graf, public information officer for TriMet. "This means better reliability for the MAX Red Line in particular but the entire MAX system."
Construction in all three areas was underway by mid-2022 and has prompted several lengthy MAX closures as the project wrapped up; the Red Line was closed for four months between Gateway and PDX last year while crews rebuilt the airport station. The latest closure was originally scheduled to end last week, but the ice storm in mid-January shut down the MAX system and delayed the start of construction, pushing the Gateway reopening date back.
"It connects us economically, it connects us socially and it gives people the opportunity to get around town easier," said Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler. "So, I just think this is just terrific for us.”
The Blue, Red and Green lines share one set of tracks along Interstate 84 east of Portland. The Red Line splits off right after Gateway to head north to Portland International Airport, but the junction was built with just one track, making it so eastbound and westbound Red Line trains had to take turns moving in and out of Gateway, and westbound Red Line trains had to cross the eastbound Blue and Green line track to reach the westbound track.
The Better Red project adds a second track to serve westbound Red Line trains, carrying them over Interstate 84 on a new bridge and bringing them to a new platform just north of Gateway. After that, they can merge directly with the westbound Blue and Green Lines without having to cross the eastbound track. The original junction track will now be used exclusively by eastbound Red Line trains.
The work near Gateway isn't quite finished; the new bridge over I-84 will also carry a bike and pedestrian path, but TriMet said that portion isn't scheduled to open until later in the spring. There will also be one more service interruption from March 16 to March 24 while crews finish signal work at the Fair Complex station, although it will only interrupt Blue Line service west of Orenco Station; the rest of the MAX system will continue to run normally.