WATCH: TriMet’s A Better Red Disruption Starting March 16th

Courtesy of Bobbycase3/Wikimedia Commons

PORTLAND, Ore. – TriMet will have a final disruption from March 16th to March 24th along the MAX Blue Line in Hillsboro.

On February 16^th, RT&S reported that TriMet’s Gateway North MAX station (as part of its A Better Red MAX Extension and Reliability Improvements Project) will be open on March 4^th. Now, the agency has announcedthat construction of its A Better Red MAX Extension and Reliability Improvements Projects will have a final planned disruption from Saturday, March 16^th to Sunday, March 24^th along the MAX Blue Line in Hillsboro. During this time, crews will finish signal work in and around the Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport MAX Station.” Below is a video from TriMet detailing the disruption.

According to the release, the disruption is “essential to the 10-station extension of the MAX Red Line from Beaverton Transit Center to Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport, opening in late August.” TriMet will finish the Hillsboro signal work this spring to allow for operator training and the “finishing touches on the project prior to the extension’s opening.” The disruption nis limited to the MAX Blue Line. Other lines will have trains running on regular schedules. 

During a disruption in 2022, the infrastructure for the A Better Red extension was built and installed. This final shutdown allows crews to connect and upgrade its system and “create a new end of the line for MAX Red Line trains.” Crews will be replacing equipment that dates back to the 1990s. 

Since November 2022, crews have been making changes to the track and finishing the operator walkway around the Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport MAX Station. Crews also reportedly installed “six new rail switch machines and replaced older parts of the track, particularly where the rails cross, with ones that are better suited to our expanded operations.” 

For its customers, TriMet will have customer service to answer questions about shuttle services.