Portland - Milwaukie Light Rail (PMLR) | Completed

[RainDog]

It's pretty exciting to see the span growing.

[philopdx]

I drive over the Marquam once a week, and it's exciting to see the west span actually beginning to resemble a genuine bridge! It's hard to resist craning my neck right to take it all in.

[philopdx]

MAX bridge:

[downtownpdx]

Cool shot, did you take that Sunday by any chance? I took the exact same one yesterday from Ross Island Bridge. Beautiful view with all the boats out.

[philopdx]

I took it Saturday afternoon, if I recall. Here are some others from downtown Milwaukie taken Sunday:







Now, here is something I can't figure out. It appears that the heavy rail track crossing has been redone as a part of the larger project. However, the concrete looks completely different than the light rail concrete. It looks like a higher quality/psi. Is that due to the heavier weight of the regular rail traffic?



Light Rail:


Heavy Rail:



Light Rail:


Heavy Rail:

[Derek]

I'm sure this has been mentioned before, and may be more appropriate in the Streetcar thread, but it's part of the same project so I'll ask it here.


Is the Streetcar stop at SW Moody and Meade (heading south) going to have some kind of crossing to get from the station to the new OHSU building?

[davehogan]

A freight train weighs so much more than MAX to the point they only really have steel on steel wheels in common. It's like comparing a skateboard to a semi truck.

Anyway, here's the other side of the transit bridge taken at dusk today from the floating Newport Bar and Grill place:



And from another nearby location earlier today:



Blurry (I was trying to catch Mt Hood in the background, which you can kind of see) nearby on Saturday:



And I just liked the angle and lighting. It's not too related, but I took it at the same time and place I took the first picture from, just facing the other way on the second floor balcony:



Just thought that was a neat sky/perspective combo to see Portland from.

[davehogan]

Derek: From the last plans I saw (it was a while back), yes, in two ways. Behind the stop there will be a stoplight with direct access to the new OHSU building once the road grid is built out.

There will also be access from the Streetcar/MAX/bridge access intersection, and it'll be a transfer point for Orange Line MAX riders who need to get to a Streetcar only destination (basically Moody/River to SW 6th) before they meet after the new viaduct and stuff. It will also serve CL riders transferring to Orange line and color shifting Green and Yellow trains.

It will probably end up being similar to the Central Library and SW 10th/Galleria MAX/Streetcar stops currently work.

Don't forget, the bridge is also meant to carry pedestrians, buses, and bikes, which makes it look like the 9, 17, and 19 will serve the area in addition to the standard traffic controls for bike/pedestrian facilities. OHSU is suddenly going to have a lot more access, and the train whiners won't be able to say that buses never get invested in.

[davehogan]

Thought I had posted this before:



Tracks are in at SE 12th, most intersections on SE 17th (including Holgate), and there was work going on at the Bybee bridge, but I couldn't quite see what. That picture is from a 70 bus just over a week ago on SE 17th.

I heard that on the first they were over 50%, and it seems like things just keep moving faster and faster.

[tworivers]

Took these shots about a week ago.

[cab]

Anyone know how the westside waterfront trail will interact with the bridge? Does it go under it? I was surprised at how close the water the bridge seems to be at grade. Looks very nice.

[maccoinnich]

The Station Area plan [PDF] shows the Willamette Greenway going under the bridge.

[hat]

Tri-met aerial photos:

https://secure.flickr.com/photos/portlandmilwaukie/sets/72157636406422583

[Shilo Rune 96]

Name Portland's new transit bridge after Kirk Reeves.

Kirk was the guy playing his trumpet at the Hawthorne bridge for years. He was truly a big influence in the Portland community before taking his own life in 2012.

Vote here:
http://trimet.org/namethebridge/

[philopdx]

Done. I also liked the facebook page located here: https://www.facebook.com/KirkReevesBridge?notif_t=fbpage_fan_invite

[Nexis4Jersey]

Whats the purpose of this Rail line? I looked at the route and it seems to go nowhere....and after speaking with some famous transit advocates out there it seems this line is a boondoggle. There are underused or limited bus routes that service this corridor better then this proposed line... Between this and the Yellow line to Vancouver it seems Tri-Met has gone power crazy...and ignores cheaper Alts.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Whats the purpose of this Rail line? I looked at the route and it seems to go nowhere....and after speaking with some famous transit advocates out there it seems this line is a boondoggle. There are underused or limited bus routes that service this corridor better then this proposed line... Between this and the Yellow line to Vancouver it seems Tri-Met has gone power crazy...and ignores cheaper Alts.

The Yellow line has been improving, daily ridership is almost 15K and growing. Plus along that line the city is starting to see a number of new rental buildings popping up along that route and will continue to get better.

The Orange line will eventually be extended to Oregon City as well as connects SoWa and OMSI via light rail. The new bridge gives the city a new route for buses, streetcar, and light rail, which will allow future routes much easier to do in the Southeast.

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Whats the purpose of this Rail line? I looked at the route and it seems to go nowhere....and after speaking with some famous transit advocates out there it seems this line is a boondoggle. There are underused or limited bus routes that service this corridor better then this proposed line... Between this and the Yellow line to Vancouver it seems Tri-Met has gone power crazy...and ignores cheaper Alts.

If you'd like your post to remain, please inform the forum of the 'famous transit advocates' you've spoken too so we can judge their credentials, and read their criticisms, for ourselves.

[bvpcvm]

My guess is he's referring to those famous transit advocates, Wendell Cox and Randall O'Toole.

[maccoinnich]

Unless the post crosses a clear line of hate speech, I don't think it's a great idea to remove the posts of those you disagree with.