TriMet using stimulus to maintain reliable light rail service

TriMet and the city of Portland, Ore., are using $1.6 million of federal stimulus funds to repair bricks in 20 intersections on Morrison and Yamhill streets in downtown Portland. As the backbone of Portland's light rail system, the Morrison and Yamhill corridors have experienced significant wear and tear and have not had major repairs in the 25 years since the tracks went in.  

Crews begin work on Monday,
August 17, starting at SW 2nd and Yamhill and SW 2nd and Morrison. They will
work on Morrison and Yamhill in tandem throughout the project, which is
expected to continue into October.

Construction details:

• Construction takes place
Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Occasional Saturday and
evening work is likely.

• A swing shift crew – 6
p.m. to 11 p.m. – will be utilized from late August through mid-September for
prep work.

• Each intersection will be
done in two stages: Each stage must be prepared and repaired then allowed to
cure before it is reopened to traffic. The two stages at SW 2nd will be
interlaced with the stages at SW 3rd. Crews will move to SW 10th and 11th,
followed by SW 1st, SW 4th and Broadway, and finally SW Park and SW 9th
avenues.

• During construction, the
auto lanes on Morrison and Yamhill will be closed; cross streets will be
reduced to one lane through the intersection.

• Lane closures are
expected to last eight to 10 days for each stage.

• Estimated completion date
is October 9, although the schedule may be revised.

• No repairs will be done
at 5th and 6th avenues, which were rebuilt as part of the Portland Mall
project.

The contractor is Stacy and
Witbeck/Kiewit Pacific, Inc. Subcontractors include C.O.A.T. Flagging, Schonert
and Associates, Inc. and Raimore Construction, Inc. Raimore and C.O.A.T.
Flagging are part of TriMet’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. Federal
stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have prevented
23 layoffs among the contractor and three subcontractors working on this
project.

TriMet was awarded $53.3
million in federal stimulus funds to be used to fix failing infrastructure,
make the transit system more robust and put Oregonians to work. Since May,
TriMet has broken ground on or completed eight of the 31 approved projects.
TriMet’s stimulus projects are projected to fund about 740 direct jobs and
1,100 indirect jobs.