TriMet has received a $55.5 million grant awarded by the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) for the 82nd Ave. Transit Project. The funding approval from Portland City Council helps set the transit improvement project in motion. The project, which will provide a frequent express bus line throughout the 82nd Ave. corridor, is set to be completed within the next five years.
TriMet’s Line 72-Killingsworth/82nd currently serves 82nd Ave., a corridor with the unique distinction of being one of Oregon’s most culturally diverse and historically disenfranchised areas. The agency says it is by far the busiest of its 78 bus lines, with more than 65,000 trips taken each week, but notes it is also the most delayed due to 82nd Ave.’s former development as a state highway, combined with increasing traffic congestion.
The 82nd Ave. Transit Project will complement the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) Building a Better 82nd Project, which brings a number of safety improvements to the corridor. Once completed by the summer of 2029, the transit project will improve the ride for thousands of people who rely on TriMet to connect to opportunities throughout the region, with safe, fast and more reliable bus service that benefits the community and the environment.
“When our buses are stuck in traffic, people can’t get to work, school or appointments on time and that’s an equity issue,” said TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. “This generous grant from the PCEF begins to break down the barriers that exist along 82nd Ave. The 82nd Ave. Transit Project is a gateway to opportunity and this grant unlocks its potential.”
TriMet notes the project will also help develop and train the local workforce and invest in strategies to lower greenhouse emissions and cool the climate locally, such as planting trees along 82nd Ave.
“We hear time and again from people along the corridor: They no longer want a high-speed, loud and dangerous highway to cut through their neighborhood,” said 82nd Ave. Coalition and Project Manager and Executive Director of Oregon Walks Zachary Lauritzen. “The 82nd Ave. Transit Project is the opportunity to transition that highway into a multimodal street that prioritizes the bus riders who make Line 72 the highest ridership bus line in Oregon. By giving this line the space and priority it deserves, this project has the potential to make 82nd safer and cleaner, with the fastest, most reliable bus service in the state!”
82nd Ave. Transit Project: The next FX bus line
The 82nd Ave. Transit Project will bring high-capacity bus service to 10 miles of 82nd Ave. between Clackamas Town Center and Northeast Portland. The agency says the future FX line along 82nd Ave. will use 60-foot articulated buses, with more room on board for riders. Buses will arrive more often and help riders reach their destinations faster, with transit-signal priority improvements that keep buses moving past traffic congestion.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awarded TriMet $39 million to advance the 82nd Ave. Transit Project. The grant will help TriMet purchase up to 14 zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses for the project, as well as supporting infrastructure and workforce development. TriMet received an additional $25 million USDOT grant to develop its Columbia Operations Facility, which will house a fleet of fuel-cell electric buses as part of its transition to a 100 percent zero-emissions bus fleet.
TriMet is putting together a Community Advisory Committee (CAC), which the agency says will play an important role in shaping the 82nd Ave. Transit Project. Members of the CAC will represent community interests and provide feedback to project decision-makers.
Timeline and next steps
TriMet will host an open house in late January to share information about the 82nd Ave. Transit Project with the community and expects to select a contractor for the project by mid-year. The project’s Steering Committee, which includes representatives from community-based organizations, including Oregon Walks, Clackamas Resource Center, Unite Oregon and the 82nd Ave. Business Alliance, will vote on a locally preferred alternative (LPA) in early 2025. TriMet notes the LPA will include the final routing and general station locations.
Construction on the project is expected to begin in 2027, with service opening to the public in the summer 2029. Project costs are estimated at $320 million, with up to $150 million projected from the Federal Transit Administration’s Small Starts Program.