MAX Yellow Line
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The MAX Yellow Line is a 5.8 mile (9.3 km) (not including segments downtown shared with other lines) route in the Metropolitan Area Express light rail system in Portland, Oregon. The route, which opened May 1, 2004, runs between downtown Portland and the Portland Expo Center. It is also known as the Interstate MAX because the majority of the line runs along Interstate Avenue in North Portland.
The Yellow Line is the newest MAX line. Originally, it was conceived as part of a north-south light rail project between Vancouver, Washington and Milwaukie to be built using city funds, but that plan was rejected by voters. TriMet then learned that a majority of the residents of North Portland had voted in favor of the original plan, so they decided to build this new line without using city funds. To do this, they convinced the City of Portland to create an urban renewal district along the proposed line, which made them eligible for matching federal funds with which they could finance the construction of the MAX line. The project was finished four months ahead of schedule at a budget of $320 million USD—$25 million USD under budget. The presence of the line has also caused a great deal of redevelopment along its corridor.
[edit] Future plans
The Yellow Line will move to the Portland Transit Mall once MAX tracks are put in there. Additionally, there are plans for extensions at both ends, from downtown Portland southward to Milwaukie as part of the MAX Orange Line (which will likely be a Yellow Line extension), and from the Expo Center into Vancouver, WA via Interstate 5 and SR-500.
