About the I-205 Project

• Background
• The route
• Service frequency & travel time
• Ridership projections
• Funding
• Project timeline

Background

The City of Portland, Clackamas County, ODOT, TriMet and Metro are collaborating in a regional effort to extend light rail service between downtown Portland and Clackamas County. As a part of this effort—dubbed the South Corridor Project—light rail service will be added along I-205 between Gateway Transit Center and Clackamas Town Center.

This is the first light rail extension into Clackamas County and includes constructing a new rail alignment on the downtown Portland Mall, along 5th and 6th avenues. Future growth in MAX use and new light rail lines such as I-205 and a planned extension to Milwaukie require more capacity than the current east-to-west alignment can handle. The Portland Mall segment will serve the heart of downtown between Union Station and Portland State University, TriMet's number one transit destination in its service area.

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The route

The I-205 MAX Light Rail project will add 6.5 miles of track, eight stations, and five Park & Ride lots providing more than 2,300 spaces. Most of the new alignment will follow an existing "transitway" created when I-205 was originally constructed. This transitway provides an available right of way that allows for faster construction, fewer traffic disruptions and few community impacts.

Project design allows for the ability to widen the freeway or improve interchanges in the future.

Between Foster Road and Clackamas Town Center, the line will be built in a way to lessen impacts on neighborhoods and businesses.

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Service frequency & travel time

The I-205 MAX line will operate every 15 minutes most of the day. Travel on I-205 MAX is estimated to take 15 minutes from Clackamas Town Center to Gateway and 23 minutes from Gateway to Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland. Total travel time will be 39 minutes from Clackamas Town Center to Pioneer Courthouse Square.

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Ridership projections

Studies project approximately 46,500 daily boardings on I-205/Portland Mall MAX Light Rail between Clackamas Town Center and PSU by 2025. Of those riders, 84 percent are expected to start and/or end their trips within the I-205 corridor.

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Funding

Federal funds will pay for 60 percent of the I-205/Portland Mall Light Rail Project, and local funds will pay for the remaining 40 percent.

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Project timeline

Final design	October 2005–December 2006
Federal funding approval	May/June 2007
Light rail construction begins	March 2007–October 2008
Systems installation	November 2007–May 2009
Testing and training	March–September 2009
Service begins	September 2009

Get more details on the construction.

Questions? Comments? Email i205@trimet.org or call 503-962-2150.

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