FTA announces grant for MAX Red Line Extension project in Portland, Oregon

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently announced a construction grant award of $99.9 million to the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) for “A Better Red”—the MAX Red Line Extension and Reliability Improvements Project in the Portland metro area.

The 7.8-mile Red Line extension will help connect Beaverton, Portland International Airport, and the Gateway Transit Center, providing a frequent, reliable and low-carbon transportation option to more users, including a one-seat ride from Hillsboro to Portland International Airport, according to a press release from the FTA.

“FTA is proud to join our partners in Oregon to expand light rail service and improve transit connections in Portland and other important destinations,” FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said in a statement.

FTA Administrator Fernandez will join TriMet and other state and local officials at a groundbreaking event for the project this week in Portland. The total project cost is $215 million with $99.9 million in funding provided through FTA’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program.

The project includes track, switch, and signalization work that will allow the MAX Red Line to serve 10 additional stations that currently are served only by the Blue Line, and adds an operator break facility at the Red Line’s new terminus in Hillsboro. The project adds a second track to two single-track sections of the Red Line, where existing bottlenecks impact schedule reliability for the entire interconnected light rail system. With the second track, the project will rebuild the Portland International Airport MAX Station and construct a new station at the Gateway/NE 99th Ave Transit Center. To accommodate the increased service, the project includes four new light rail vehicles.