TriMet’s MAX Blue Line trains serving the Gresham stations between Rockwood/E 188th Ave and Cleveland Ave are back in service following a two-week improvements project that covered 2.3 miles of the line.
The project combined upgrades at seven rail crossings, three stretches of restricted trackway, a nearly one-mile section of the overhead wire and four MAX stations.
TriMet says the project involved one of the most diverse selections of upgrades it has done during a two-week span. Staff and construction crews completed as many improvements to the two-mile stretch as possible during this project while minimizing the inconvenience to riders.
Trains back in service
Trains resumed service Oct. 6 to all MAX stations between Rockwood/E 188th Ave and Cleveland Ave. These include: Ruby Junction/E 197th Ave, Civic Dr, Gresham City Hall, Gresham Central Transit Center and Cleveland Ave.
The Gresham MAX Improvements will make service more reliable and help keep trains running on time. During the project, facilities crews deep cleaned four of the closed platforms: Ruby Junction/E 197th Ave, Civic Drive, Gresham City Hall and Gresham Central Transit Center.
Auto drivers, cyclists and pedestrians may also notice an improved ride over the rail crossings where the road meets the track. Crews closed or restricted traffic to seven crossings for a time during the two-week work window. They filled in asphalt gaps next to the rails and shored up the track bed. This will make for a smoother surface and a less bumpy ride for MAX trains, cyclists and autos crossing the tracks.
Crews performed work at the following crossings:
Northwest Birdsdale Avenue
Northwest Eastman Parkway
North Main Avenue
Northeast Roberts Avenue
Northeast Hood Avenue
Northeast Kelly Avenue
Northeast Cleveland Avenue
Investment pays dividends
As part of the improvements project, TriMet upgraded sections of the trackway where wooden railroad ties were installed in the early 1980s. Crews were able to strip out and replace some wooden ties with more durable, concrete ties. Up above the tracks, they replaced the overhead wire that powers westbound trains between the Gresham Central Transit Center and Civic Drive stations.
New and improved switch machines were also installed, and new signal and communications cables were stretched underground, which will help maintain more reliable service and on-time performance.
Making transit better
Over the past few years, TriMet has completed a series of improvements to keep the MAX system running reliably for years to come:
TriMet has reduced MAX heat-related delays with adjustments to the overhead wire and counterweight system and installed tie anchors in areas prone to sun kinks. TriMet also made improvements on WES to reduce delays in high temps.
It also completed major track, rail and switch improvements in the Lloyd neighborhood, at the end of the MAX Blue Line in Hillsboro, near Providence Park and on Morrison and Yamhill, among others.
