Here’s how TriMet’s ‘A Better Red’ project will impact the Gateway Green bike park

There’s some very bad and very good news about how an upcoming TriMet light rail project will impact the Gateway Green bike park.

First the bad news: A section of the south end of the park will be closed for about three years from this September through late 2024. The very good news is that once the A Better Red project is complete, Gateway Green will boast several exciting new upgrades.

We first shared news of TriMet’s $200 million MAX Red Line upgrade last year. Now that construction is imminent, TriMet is sharing more specifics about what to expect.

TriMet says the closure area will include a significant portion of Linda’s Line and Rebar Ridge areas of the park.

A Better Red aims to smooth light rail flow and increase reliability across the MAX system by building a new station platform and second track line that will serve Red Line trains coming from Portland International Airport.

The project’s new MAX station will be about 500 feet north of the existing Gateway Transit Center. Two new bridges will be constructed for the second track. One of the bridges will span the existing MAX track and I-205 path adjacent to Gateway Green. The other will go across I-84 and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. TriMet will also build a new multi-use path to connect the new and old platforms. The path will also extend northward on the new I-84 bridge into Gateway Green (see renderings).

To help alleviate the pain of the closure, TriMet will help Portland Parks and Recreation and NW Trail Alliance build a new southern entrance plaza to the park, as well as make upgrades to Linda’s Line and Rebar Ridge.

The new path and park upgrades should be ready to ride by late 2024.

Here’s TriMet’s map of the finished product (new south entry plaza on lower right):

Learn more about this project here.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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