PORTLAND, Ore. — Interstate 84 in Portland will be closed in both directions at Interstate 205 once more through the weekend as TriMet finishes up construction on a new light rail bridge, part of an ongoing effort to extend the MAX Red line west.
The closure begins Friday, Oct. 6 at 10 p.m. and will last through Monday, Oct. 9 at 5 a.m. All drivers will have to find another route. The Oregon Department of Transportation warned drivers that there will be delays, recommending a detour through I-205.
Drivers heading west on I-84 can use I-205 southbound and follow signs to I-84 westbound (Exit 21B). The exit to I-205 north is open during the weekend work.
Meanwhile, drivers heading east on I-84 should take an alternate route. They can take Exit 6 to I-205 south, then take Exit 22 toward I-84 east.
The Northeast 102nd Avenue onramp to I-84 west and the I-84 east Exit 7 Halsey/99nd Avenue offramp will also be closed during the work.
TriMet's "A Better Red" project is the reason for the closure. It's supposed to allow for a number of light rail improvements, including a new set of tracks, two new bridges, a new track crossing and a MAX Red line station platform. It will extend the Red line west to serve 10 more stations, something TriMet hopes will help keep trains on time.
Bus and MAX services should not be affected by the closure, TriMet said.
Work on the Better Red project closed down part of I-84 late last month as well, and there was a similar closure in June that only impacted westbound I-84. During that closure, there were bottlenecks at the I-84 interchange with I-205.
Correction: An earlier version of this article provided incorrect detour directions for drivers heading east on I-84.