Downtown Construction Update

Compared to last summer, the summer of 2008 is shaping up to be a tad more relaxed when it comes to construction impacts downtown. The Portland mall project reached a big milestone on June 30 when the final reach of roadway reconstruction and rail installation was finished. This completed the phase called "heavy civil construction," and from now until mid-November crews will be working on activities with a lot less impact on traffic. They will sometimes need to close sidewalks, parking or travel lanes as they finish sidewalks and stations, set and paint poles and streetlights, and install new traffic signals.

Both SW 6th and SW 5th avenues are now open to traffic from one end of downtown to the other, with space for on-street parking. TriMet will close both streets between Taylor and Washington this Saturday, July 19, for a giant Street Fair to mark the progress of light rail construction. You are invited to join in celebrating the transformation of the transit mall into a vibrant and inviting place! From 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., the celebration promises lots of family fun, with music and merriment, performances of all kinds, food and face-painting, and sidewalk sales.

The one major traffic impact of the Mall project this summer is that the Steel Bridge remains closed to motorists and buses through August. The closure is necessary while crews connect the new MAX tracks to the existing MAX system on the bridge. Access for walkers and cyclists is being maintained on the lower deck and intermittently on the south side of the upper deck.

The Portland Mall has been the biggest -- but by no means the only -- construction project downtown for the past couple of years. A slew of other public works projects to replace the central city's aging infrastructure, plus private investment of nearly a half-billion dollars, meant at times last summer it felt like much of downtown was under construction.

This summer, while there are still several downtown towers going up and a new park to be completed, most public works projects, other than the Mall, have wrapped up and are out of the way. There is one major downtown sewer repair project underway, but most of the work will be done inside the sewers, at night, and won't require excavation.

Come on downtown and see for yourself: with all the new businesses that have opened and stores that have expanded, downtown is more fun than ever. Take TriMet for a hassle-free trip, or check online for traffic impacts before you drive, at Keep Portland Moving!

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