About the Project
Project Overview
The Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project will create a light rail alignment that travels 7.3 miles, connecting Portland State University in downtown Portland, inner Southeast Portland, Milwaukie and north Clackamas County. The project itself will create up to 14,000 jobs and generate up to $573 million in personal earnings.
MAX service on the alignment is scheduled to begin in 2015. By 2030, this light rail line will carry up to an average of 22,765 to 25,500 weekday rides, and there will be approximately 22,000 households and 85,000 employees within walking distance of Portland-Milwaukie light rail stations.
Growing Places
Expanding transit options is essential to the livability and economic vitality of our growing region, which is expected to add one million new residents, and nearly 100,000 new jobs within the project corridor, by 2030. The Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project is a vital element in the region’s strategy to manage growth and build livable communities. This project is about more than bringing high-capacity transit to under-served communities—it is also about helping communities envision and achieve their aspirations. Combining infrastructure improvements, quality design features and new transit-oriented development along the alignment will connect neighborhoods, encourage walking and cycling, and create engaging public spaces where people want to be.
Alignment Simulation Video
Project Status
August 19, 2011: TriMet submitted the application for the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for consideration. If the FFGA is approved, the FTA would commit to providing multi-year federal funds under the New Starts program for the project in exchange for the commitment by TriMet (as the project sponsor) to complete the project on time, within budget and in compliance with all applicable federal requirements. The FTA decision regarding the FFGA application is expected in spring 2012.
July 1, 2011: Construction began on the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge over the Willamette River, the first bridge built over the river in Portland in over 40 years and a critical component of the project. Learn more about the light rail bridge.
March 29, 2011: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved the project's entry into Final Design. This approval allows the project to be developed from its current 30 percent design to 100 percent design, with milestones at 60 and 90 percent design. The design reached 60 percent design in June 2011, and is scheduled to reach 90 percent design by December 2011. The project is scheduled to reach 100 percent design, and complete the Final Design phase, in March 2012.
February 14, 2011: Part of the President’s budget included transportation projects to be funded through the New Starts program under the Federal Transit Administration (Section 5309 Capital Investment Projects). The Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project was listed with a recommended $200 million in FY2012. The Portland-Milwaukie transit project was one of only three projects that received recommendations to enter into a new Full Funding Grant Agreement. This recommendation from the Administration and the Federal Transit Administration shows they have great confidence in the project.
December 8, 2010, and January 26, 2011: the TriMet Board of Directors approved several resolutions that allow the project to move forward. The resolutions included authorization of the future sale of bonds to help finance the project, as well as approval of contracts to complete design and engineering of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge and move it into construction in July 2011. A resolution also approved property acquisitions associated with the project. Read the approved resolutions.
November 29, 2010: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a Record of Decision finding that the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) have been satisfied for the construction and operation of the project. Read the Record of Decision. (5.9 MB PDF)
October 22, 2010: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) published the project Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). View the FEIS at Metro's Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail page.
March 2010: The project completed its Preliminary Engineering phase, during which design of the total project was brought to 30 percent.
November 2008: The project Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) was completed.
Summer 2008: A Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) alignment and station plan was chosen.
Open for Business
If a business needs to relocate due to the project, TriMet and its partners can provide relocation assistance.
South Corridor Project
The South Corridor Project—led by Metro in partnership with TriMet, the City of Portland, the City of Milwaukie and Clackamas County—has worked to identify transportation options for the fast-growing I-205 and Milwaukie/Oregon City corridors. When the study began in 1999, light rail was not an option under consideration. But neighborhoods along the alignment—from Southeast Portland to Milwaukie—requested that light rail be part of the study.
Today, the community overwhelmingly supports building light rail to serve Southeast Portland and Clackamas County. To achieve this, the South Corridor Project has followed a two-phased approach.
Phase 1
In September 2009, Phase 1 brought MAX Green Line service to the I-205 corridor between Clackamas Town Center and Gateway, where it then uses the existing MAX Blue and Red line tracks to travel to downtown Portland. Once the Green Line crosses the Steel Bridge, it follows new tracks along the Portland Mall to Portland State University.
Phase 2
Portland-Milwaukie light rail constitutes Phase 2 of the South Corridor Project.
