PORTLAND, Ore. — There are nearly 400 train crossings in the Portland metro area.
One crossing just west of Interstate 5 on N Columbia Boulevard sees an average of 45 trains each day! The trains are unpredictably long and the schedule is not published, so drivers are taking their chances of getting stuck in traffic for as long as 30 minutes.
Three crossings in downtown and SE Portland are particularly troubling for local drivers.
The train crossing on Naito Parkway near the Steel Bridge carries an average of 30 trains a day (some Amtrak, but mostly freight).
The crossing on SE Yamhill frequently backs up the I-5 North exit ramp to Water Avenue 16 times a day on average.
And the crossing near SE 11th/12th Avenues and Division is a major headache for drivers. In addition to carrying about 75 MAX trains a day, there are about 24 freight trains crawling downs those tracks.
TriMet officials say bus line 70 has to divert frequently around that crossing,
“Nearly once a day, TriMet has to detour the Line 70-12th/NE 33rd Ave when trains using the UPRR tracks block for more than a few minutes at a time. That means stops on SE 11th and 12th between Hawthorne and Powell cannot be served when the buses have to take a different route," officials said.
In all three of these cases, drivers are basically stuck with next to no warning. At times, that delay can be upwards of a half hour, in rare cases, even more.
Some drivers we talked to think getting some advanced warning would be very helpful. For instance, when the Interstate Bridge is about to open, the Oregon Department of Transportation frequently is able to publish an alert with as much as a 10 to 15-minute warning.
There’s also a warning sign on I-5 N at Columbia Boulevard, so it gives drivers at least some option to get off the freeway and take a different route.
You could argue that sign could be placed much farther south, but regardless, ODOT is able to communicate with river traffic. The hope is to get that same consideration near some strategic rail crossings.
What drives you crazy on area roadways? Reach Chris on Facebook, Twitter, or email: cmcginness@kgw.com.
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