Construction is underway on TriMet’s Division Transit Project, which aims to bring faster, more reliable transit service to the 15-mile Division Street Corridor.
The new line, which will replace the current Line 2-Division, will feature longer, high-capacity buses running between Downtown Portland and Gresham.
“TriMet understands much of daily life is on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Division Transit Project helps build the road to our future,” said TriMet General Manager Doug Kelsey. “Better transit service benefits the entire community by helping to ease congestion, making the transportation system more equitable and curbing carbon emissions.”
The Division Transit Project will:
- Reduce travel times on the third-busiest bus line (pre-COVID-19) by up to 20 percent;
- Bring 28 blocks of bus/business access lanes to help keep buses out of traffic congestion;
- Speed up trips with transit priority signal upgrades that let buses go before personal vehicles;
- Use 60-foot articulated buses for greater capacity, with three doors for faster boarding; and
- Create 42 enhanced bus-stop stations with amenities like shelters, lighting and real-time arrival information.
Station shelter prototype constructed
This week, crews with the Division Transit Project contractor, Raimore Construction, installed a temporary station shelter prototype at NW Division Street and Eastman Parkway in Gresham. The mock-up will provide TriMet an opportunity to look at the functionality of the pedestrian pass through station design. The pedestrian pass through is one of four unique designs developed for the project and provides space for curb-level boarding at any of the bus’s three doors. TriMet will study the prototype and evaluate the station for style, safety and accessibility.
Shelters for Division Transit Project will be designed specific to the station’s location. Every shelter will feature integrated lighting and a windscreen. Shelter amenities will include TransitTracker™, weather protection, seating and garbage cans.
Construction of the station prototype expands a growing list of milestones achieved on the project, which is on track to begin service in fall of 2022. Since January, crews have:
- Poured 19 station platforms;
- Created seven bioswales;
- Built five new pedestrian safety islands; and
- Installed one new signal.
Investing in the future
The Division Transit project’s total price tag is $175 million, with half coming from the federal government and the remainder from local sources. The Federal Transit Administration awarded TriMet $87.4 million for the project in January. It has created more than 1,400 jobs, including 650 construction jobs and more than 780 indirect and induced jobs. Construction of the project resulted in Oregon’s largest-ever contract award for a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise.
