Misplaced Pages

#85914

57-524: The bridge was completed in 1912 and replaced the previous Steel Bridge built in 1888 as a double-deck swing-span bridge . The 1888 structure was the first railroad bridge across the Willamette River in Portland. Its name originated because steel, instead of wrought iron , was used in the original bridge's construction, which was very unusual for the time. When the current Steel Bridge opened, it

114-517: A flexible walking track bridge which "swings" as you walk across.) In the UK, there is a legal definition in current statute as to what is, or is not a 'swing bridge' The largest double swing-span bridge in the United States is the 3,250 feet (990 m) long, 450 feet (140 m) navigable span, 60 feet (18 m) clearance George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge . Omaha NE Turn Style Bridge

171-574: A light rail line using the I-205 busway. They envisioned the line running from Portland International Airport to Clackamas Town Center and connecting with the then-nearly completed Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) line, which traveled perpendicularly between Portland and Gresham . Metro had recommended construction by 1995, but in 1987, the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) separately identified

228-498: A $ 3 ticket fee levied on travelers. Delta Air Lines , Reno Air , and United Airlines had opposed the use of ticket fees, arguing that the extension would serve few airline passengers, but the FAA approved it in May 1999. Additional funds came from Cascade Station Development, a private consortium of Bechtel and real estate developer Trammell Crow , who provided $ 28.2 million for

285-603: A 1998 ballot measure . In 1997, engineering firm Bechtel , wanting to acquire property near the airport, submitted an unsolicited proposal to develop the airport light rail line. The Port expressed its support of the proposal, and a preliminary engineering study commenced in December. After long deliberations, agreements were made between Bechtel, the Port, TriMet, and local governments and agencies in October 1998. A part of

342-544: A bridge which intersects the navigation channel at an oblique angle may be built to rotate only 45 degrees, or one-eighth turn, in order to clear the channel. Small swing bridges as found over narrow canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot. Many inner cities have swing bridges, since these require less street space than other types of bridges. (A "swing bridge" in New Zealand refers to

399-420: A light rail station near the southern end of the terminal's arrivals hall and baggage claim area. By 1993, however, the airport had already served 8.5 million annual passengers—a growth rate of 18 percent, which exceeded the Port's projection for the year 1997. Meanwhile, environmental studies conducted in the early 1990s caused Metro planners to shift plans away from the I-205 corridor in favor of

456-646: A north–south route farther west, closer to downtown Portland ; this route, between Hazel Dell, Washington and Clackamas Town Center, became known as the " South/North Corridor ". Voters rejected local funding proposals for the South/North project in 1995 and 1996. Seeking alternative sources of funding, Metro proposed combining the South/North project with a locally and privately funded airport light rail extension, as doing so would allow Metro to ask for more federal matching funds. TriMet, however, opted to ask Portland-area voters for funding instead, who declined in

513-512: A one-seat ride to the airport for westside riders. Regular use of two-car trains on the line began in September 2005, when overcrowding prompted TriMet to change most Yellow Line service from two-car consists to single cars in order to convert the Red Line to two-car trains. On March 2, 2008, three trips in each direction during the morning and evening rush hours began operating between

570-606: A petition in Multnomah County Circuit Court claiming that the contract awarded to Bechtel may have violated Oregon procurement laws. The court ruled in favor of TriMet with the judge declaring that the contract was awarded fairly. TriMet estimated the cost of the Airport MAX extension to be $ 125 million, but additional costs to purchase train sets and build related infrastructure raised this total to $ 182.7 million. The project's timeline

627-671: Is now a historical landmark. Located 86H674H5+98 Used for rail transport. Connecting Council Bluffs, Iowa to downtown Omaha, Nebraska MAX Red Line The MAX Red Line is a light rail line serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon . Operated by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system, it is an airport rail link connecting Hillsboro , Beaverton , Portland City Center , and Northeast Portland to Portland International Airport . The Red Line serves 37 stations; it interlines with

SECTION 10

#1732780714086

684-415: Is now automated, controlled by the bridge operator. Swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge ) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pivot horizontally as shown in

741-641: The Blue Line and partially with the Green Line from Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds station to Gateway/Northeast 99th Avenue Transit Center and then branches off to Portland Airport station . Service runs for 22 hours per day with headways of up to 15 minutes. The Red Line carried an average 17,390 passengers per weekday in September 2024, the second-busiest after the Blue Line. Plans for light rail service to Portland International Airport surfaced in

798-606: The Columbia Slough . Bridgework over the freeway commenced the following December. To minimize lane closures, workers used a cast-in-place concrete pouring method to extend the bridges' spans in 16-foot (4.9 m) increments. Work progressed quickly along the freeway segment due to the existing I-205 busway right-of-way, which came with a tunnel from Gateway Transit Center to the freeway median. Bechtel contracted track installation to Stacy and Witbeck , whose workers placed 3,200 feet (975.4 m) of rail per day to meet

855-710: The Hatfield Government Center and Portland Airport stations to provide further additional capacity on the Blue Line amid growing ridership. In October 2017, TriMet, citing system-wide delays caused by two single-track segments along the Airport MAX, announced the MAX Red Line Improvements Project, later renamed "A Better Red". A Better Red sought double-tracking a 2,800-foot (850 m) section of track north of Gateway Transit Center and another 3,800-foot (1,200 m) section alongside Northeast Airport Way just before

912-562: The Westside Corridor from downtown Portland to Washington County as the "next priority corridor for major investment". Metro and the regional transit agency, TriMet , subsequently called on local governments and businesses in Clackamas County to pursue alternative funding sources for the I-205 line, which Clackamas County officials disputed. As a compromise, Metro published a transit plan in 1989 that reasserted

969-474: The "hardest-working" bridge on the Willamette River: "Cars, trucks, freight trains, buses, Amtrak, MAX, pedestrians, bicycles — you carry it all." The lift span of the bridge is 211 feet (64 m) long. At low river levels, the lower deck is 26 feet (7.9 m) above the water, and 163 feet (50 m) of vertical clearance is provided when both decks are raised. Because of the independent lifts,

1026-481: The 1980s, and efforts were accelerated during the airport's expansion in the 1990s. The Airport MAX project was conceived from an unsolicited proposal by Bechtel in 1997, and it was designed and built under a public–private partnership between a consortium of Bechtel and Trammell Crow , the Port of Portland , and local governments. Construction of the four-station, 5.5-mile (8.9 km) branch line began in 1999 and

1083-548: The 292–Red Bus. Route 292 travels a longer route than its predecessor with service through Southeast Portland and downtown, terminating at Goose Hollow/Southwest Jefferson Street station . The Red Line averaged 17,390 riders on weekdays in September 2024, the second-busiest after the Blue Line. One year after opening, the line averaged 2,800 daily riders at the airport, ahead of TriMet's first-year projections of 2,300. The Red Line's extension to Beaverton Transit Center in 2003 increased weekday ridership by 49 percent along

1140-622: The Eastside MAX segment, makes a 180-degree loop, and heads north along the east side of the I-205 freeway. Near Rocky Butte , it enters a tunnel beneath the northbound lanes of the freeway and emerges along the median. The line then crosses over the southbound lanes of I-205 just south of the Columbia Slough and proceeds northwest along the south side of Cascade Parkway. It follows this road then crosses it just before Mount Hood Avenue station. The line then continues northwest along

1197-928: The Green Line. Riders can transfer to the Green, Orange , and Yellow lines at the Pioneer Courthouse and Pioneer Place stations from the Pioneer Square stations . Riders can also transfer to the Yellow Line at Interstate/Rose Quarter station from Rose Quarter Transit Center . The Library , Galleria, Convention Center , and Northeast 7th Avenue stations connect with the Portland Streetcar , and Beaverton Transit Center connects with WES Commuter Rail . Some stations connect to local and intercity bus services . TriMet designates

SECTION 20

#1732780714086

1254-546: The MAX system: Portland Airport, Mount Hood Avenue, Cascades , and Parkrose/Sumner Transit Center. In March 2024, Gateway North station was added as part of A Better Red . The Red Line serves these five stations in addition to 32 others, a total of 37 stations. It shares the 32 stations, from Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds station to Gateway Transit Center, with the Blue Line, of which eight stations, from Rose Quarter Transit Center to Gateway Transit Center, are additionally shared with

1311-417: The Red Line as a "Frequent Service" route. Red Line trains operate from 3:20 am to 1:40 am the next day with headways ranging from 30 minutes during the early mornings and late evenings to 15 minutes during peak hours. End-to-end travel from Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds station to Portland Airport station takes just over one hour. On September 2, 2018, TriMet reintroduced bus service to

1368-494: The Westside Corridor's priority and commissioned preliminary work for the I-205 proposal. In April 1991, the Port of Portland approved a master plan for Portland International Airport—a 20-year, $ 300 million phased expansion of the passenger terminal —to serve predicted passenger traffic growth through 2010. The plan included a long-term goal for an extension of light rail to the airport and thus reserved space for

1425-731: The Westside MAX corridor and six percent systemwide. IKEA 's opening in July 2007 helped attract more riders to Cascade Station shopping center, which was considered a failed planned development following the economic recession caused by the September ;11 attacks. In 2008, Cascades station recorded an eight-fold increase in traffic, from 250 passengers per week to 2,000, and this figure had further grown to 6,000 by 2010. The Red Line's annual ridership peaked at just over nine million passengers in 2009, and it continued to fall over

1482-537: The aftermath of the September 11 attacks , with the airport itself closed for three days due to a nationwide ground stop . Upon opening, the Red Line operated from the airport to the Library and Galleria stations in downtown Portland, where its trains turned around at the 11th Avenue loop tracks. It replaced bus route 12–Sandy Boulevard as TriMet's only service to and from the airport, while C-Tran ,

1539-478: The agreements authorized Bechtel to design and build a 5.5-mile-long (8.9 km) light rail extension to the airport in exchange for development rights to the 120-acre (48.6 ha), commercially zoned Portland International Center situated east of the airport. Bechtel later developed this property and renamed it Cascade Station . The following month, the Associated Builders and Contractors filed

1596-466: The airport terminal. To qualify the project for federal funding, TriMet proposed extending Red Line service farther west to Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station in Hillsboro using existing MAX tracks; this would create a one-seat option from 10 additional stations to Portland International Airport. Additionally, TriMet had announced it would procure up to eight new light rail vehicles to accommodate

1653-485: The airport, which had been replaced by the Red Line in 2001, with route 272–PDX Night Bus. Service ran in the late night and early morning hours when the Red Line was not operating. It traveled from the airport via Airport Way and 82nd Avenue to a local bus stop near Southeast 80th and Washington streets. Route 272 was suspended on April 5, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic , and reinstated on August 25, 2024, as

1710-447: The animated illustration to the right. In its closed position, a swing bridge carrying a road or railway over a river or canal , for example, allows traffic to cross. When a water vessel needs to pass the bridge, road traffic is stopped (usually by traffic signals and barriers), and then motors rotate the bridge horizontally about its pivot point. The typical swing bridge will rotate approximately 90 degrees, or one-quarter turn; however,

1767-514: The bridge took place during the next three months and the light rail line opened for service on September 5, 1986. A single-lane viaduct that connected the bridge's east approach to another viaduct (still in existence) that takes traffic from southbound Interstate 5 to Interstate 84 was closed in 1988 and removed in 1989, as part of roadway changes intended to improve traffic flow around the Oregon Convention Center . The center

Steel Bridge - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-484: The bridge, including the two narrow sidewalks on the upper deck. The bridge is owned by Union Pacific with the upper deck leased to Oregon Department of Transportation , and subleased to TriMet , while the City of Portland is responsible for the approaches. The average daily traffic in 2000 was 23,100 vehicles (including many TriMet buses), 200 MAX trains, 40 freight and Amtrak trains, and 500 bicycles. The construction of

1881-635: The bridge; the Williams Avenue line crossed the Steel Bridge from February 1937 until October 9, 1949. Many years later, in 1986, electric transit vehicles returned to the bridge in the form of MAX Light Rail and later the Portland Vintage Trolley . In 1950, the Steel Bridge became an important part of a new U.S. 99W highway between Harbor Drive and Interstate Avenue. It was also sought for use by Interstate 5 , which

1938-472: The entire project, the Port divided financing into three parts and assumed responsibility for that segment. The next 1.4 miles (2.3 km) of track, which ran through Cascade Station, in turn went to private funding, while the final 2.9 miles (4.7 km) along I-205 was covered by TriMet, Metro, and the City of Portland. The Port contributed $ 28.3 million for construction and $ 20 million for terminal and road improvements; these funds were drawn from

1995-586: The improvements, but later purchased 30 new trains overall; four were part of A Better Red , while the remaining 26 were replacements for the original MAX fleet, which are gradually being retired. Preliminary design work began in February 2018, and TriMet adopted a locally preferred alternative in April 2019. Final design was completed by engineering firm Parametrix in early 2021. The design included two new bridges north of Gateway Transit Center to accommodate

2052-458: The last bidirectional single-track sections on the MAX system. The Red Line extension to Hillsboro began service on August 25, 2024 with a soft launch, with the full launch beginning on August 28. Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station was also renamed to Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds station . The Red Line serves the 5.5-mile-long (8.9 km) Airport MAX segment. This segment begins just south of Gateway Transit Center where it branches from

2109-403: The lower deck can be raised to 72 feet (22 m), telescoping into the upper deck but not disturbing it. Each deck has its own counterweights, two for the upper and eight for the lower, totaling 9 million pounds (4,500 short tons; 4,100 metric tons). The machinery house sits atop the upper-deck lift truss. The operator's room is suspended from the top of the lift-span truss, directly below

2166-615: The lower-deck walkway connected to the Eastbank Esplanade resulted in a sharp increase in bicycle traffic, with over 2,100 daily bicycle crossings in 2005. MAX traffic has tripled since 2000, when only the Gresham–Hillsboro line (now the Blue Line ) was using the bridge, to 605 daily crossings (weekdays) as of 2012. This resulted from the addition of three more MAX lines during that period: the Red , Yellow , Green Lines . In

2223-465: The machinery house, so that the operator can view river traffic as well as the upper deck. After the 2001 addition of a pedestrian walkway on the lower deck, cameras and closed-circuit television monitors were added to allow the operator to view the lower-deck walkway. Until the bridge's mid-1980s renovation, the crossing gates blocking the roadway and sidewalks during raising of the upper-deck lift span were manually operated, rotated horizontally across

2280-486: The number of car lanes along a future nine-mile (14 km) section of the controversial Interstate 205 (I-205) freeway and replaced it with a separated transit bus right-of-way ; this right-of-way was realized as the I-205 busway , but it was never utilized by buses. The Portland metropolitan area 's regional government, Metro , began a study in 1985 for the Port of Portland and Clackamas County , who proposed

2337-504: The power, trains, and signals in March 2001, and TriMet took over the project that July to continue system testing and verify scheduling. In 2000, TriMet named the new MAX service to the airport the "Red Line" to differentiate it from the established service between Hillsboro and Gresham , which it renamed the "Blue Line". The Airport MAX extension opened on September 10, 2001. Celebrations scheduled for September 15–16 were canceled in

Steel Bridge - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-530: The prime engineer and lead designer. Much of the Airport MAX extension used public right-of-way already owned either by the Oregon Department of Transportation , the Port, or TriMet. This avoided displacing private property owners and limited the project's impact only to parking spaces at Gateway Transit Center and along Airport Way. Bechtel began construction in June 1999 on a segment next to I-205 near

2451-462: The project and $ 13.1 million for the construction of an interchange over I-205 and Airport Way. TriMet released $ 27.5 million for construction, which was funded by $ 30 million in bonds, and procured six new rail cars for $ 6 million each. Metro allocated $ 18 million from a regional transportation fund, and $ 23 million came from tax increment bonds issued by the City of Portland. David Evans and Associates served as

2508-423: The project's deadline; tracks from Gateway Transit Center to the bridge over southbound I-205 were laid by July 2000. Hoffman Construction built the $ 8.4 million Portland Airport station , and local architecture firm Zimmer Gunsul Frasca (ZGF) designed the station's glass-roofed shelter to complement the airport terminal's drop-off canopy , which ZGF also designed. Bechtel began the end-to-end testing of

2565-403: The roadway by two "gate tenders", one on each side of the lift span. Small shacks for the gatekeepers were positioned on the roadway deck, between the inner and outer traffic lanes, but they were removed during the 1980s rebuilding and replaced by a new gate tender house positioned above the roadway, in the west lift tower. Powered crossing gates replaced the manual ones, and operation of the gates

2622-610: The second track and a new MAX platform just north of Gateway Transit Center called " Gateway North ". The project cost $ 215 million. In May 2020, the FTA announced $ 99.99 million for the project through the Capital Investment Grants program. $ 104 million from TriMet, $ 8.9 million from Metro, and $ 2.2 million from the Port covered the local-matching funds. The project broke ground on September 28, 2021. From April 2–9, 2022, Red Line service

2679-481: The south side of Airport Way until it reaches its terminus at Portland Airport station. Beyond the Airport MAX, the Red Line serves parts of the Westside and Eastside MAX segments, where it interlines with the Blue Line from Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds station to Gateway Transit Center and the Green Line from Rose Quarter Transit Center to Gateway Transit Center. The Airport MAX project added four stations to

2736-532: The summer of 2008, the upper deck was closed for three weeks to allow a junction to be built at the west end connecting the existing MAX tracks with a new MAX line on the Portland Transit Mall . A change made at that time was that the two inner lanes became restricted to MAX trains only, with cars, buses and other motorized traffic permitted only in the two outer lanes. In 2012, the Steel Bridge celebrated its 100th birthday. The Oregonian called it

2793-626: The time of its opening and then by the city's first electric streetcar line starting in November 1889; when the present Steel Bridge opened in 1912, the streetcar lines (all electric by then) moved to it, starting on September 8, 1912. Streetcar service across the Steel continued until August 1, 1948, when the last car lines using it, the Alberta and Broadway Lines, were abandoned. A single line of Portland's once-extensive trolley bus system also used

2850-441: The time, service had been using single light rail cars, but the influx of riders prompted TriMet to temporarily deploy two-car consists , which it had not planned to do until 2006. On September 1, 2003, TriMet extended Red Line service farther west using the existing Westside MAX tracks to Beaverton Transit Center . This was done in an effort to increase capacity between Gateway Transit Center and Beaverton, and to provide

2907-477: The transit agency serving Clark County, Washington , rerouted its bus service from its connection at Gateway Transit Center to Parkrose/Sumner Transit Center . Although tested during trial runs, TriMet opted to omit luggage racks from Red Line trains to maximize rider capacity. By November 2001, ridership had averaged 2,300 riders and peaked at 3,800 riders a day before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. At

SECTION 50

#1732780714086

2964-492: Was accelerated with the formation of a public–private partnership , which excluded Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding and thus eliminated a requirement for FTA approval. Under U.S. federal regulations along with authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Port was only able to fund a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) stretch within airport property. To ensure funding for

3021-590: Was completed in under two years due to the use of local and private financing and existing public right-of-way . The Red Line began operating between the airport and downtown Portland on September 10, 2001. It was extended west along existing MAX tracks to Beaverton Transit Center in 2003. In 2024, the A Better Red project eliminated two single-track segments along the Airport MAX and extended Red Line service farther west to Hillsboro Airport and Westside Commons, formerly Washington County Fairgrounds, in Hillsboro. In 1975, Multnomah County leaders negotiated reducing

3078-504: Was later moved to the Marquam Bridge . Harbor Drive was removed in 1974 and replaced with Tom McCall Waterfront Park . In the mid-1980s, the bridge underwent a $ 10 million renovation, including construction of the MAX light rail line of TriMet . Beginning in June, 1984, the span was closed to all traffic for two years. The bridge reopened on May 31, 1986. Completion and testing of the light-rail tracks and overhead wires across

3135-697: Was simply given its predecessor's name. The bridge was designed by the engineering firm of Waddell & Harrington , which was based in Kansas City, Missouri , but also had an office in Portland. The structure was built by Union Pacific Railroad and the Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company (OWR&N) at a cost of $ 1.7 million (equivalent to $ 54 million in 2023). It opened in July 1912 to rail traffic and on August 9, 1912, to automobiles. The 1888 Steel Bridge (upper deck) had been crossed by horse-drawn streetcars from

3192-627: Was suspended to make way for construction, and shuttle buses operated between Gateway Transit Center and Portland International Airport. The project was completed in March 2024. From June 18 to October 21, 2023, TriMet suspended MAX service between Gateway Transit Center and the airport to allow for construction of the second track between the airport and Mount Hood Avenue. From January 14 to March 3, 2024, TriMet suspended MAX Red, Blue and Green Line service between NE 7th and Gateway Transit Center. Inbound Red Line trains from PDX began serving Gateway North on March 4, 2024. These projects eliminated

3249-484: Was under construction at that time and opened in 1990. The lower deck of the bridge was threatened by major floods in 1948 , 1964 , and 1996 . In 2001, a 220-foot-long (67 m) and 8-foot-wide (2.4 m) cantilevered walkway was installed on the southern side of the bridge's lower deck as part of the Eastbank Esplanade construction, raising to three the number of publicly accessible walkways across

#85914