PORTLAND, Ore. — A stretch of Interstate 84 has reopened in both directions near Interstate 205 after TriMet started construction for a MAX light rail bridge over the weekend.
The closure started at 10 p.m. Friday and lasted until 4 a.m. Monday.
"Once this part of the project is complete, it will essentially look like there’s a new bridge, and that’s an important part of the larger Better Red Project,” said Tyler Graf with TriMet.
TriMet’s Better Red Project is a four-year, $215 million plan to extend MAX Red Line service to 10 additional stops on the westside from Beaverton to Hillsboro.
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Improvements on the eastside include a second set of tracks near Portland International Airport and Gateway Transit Center in addition to two new light rail bridges near the transit center.
This weekend, TriMet secured 650 tons of steel with more than 13,000 bolts to set the first of those two bridges near the Gateway Transit Center.
"We’ll be able to help trains move around each other more efficiently. Especially with the Red Line, that’ll have trickle down effects throughout the entire system," said Graf.
A short section of the Max Blue Line was also be disrupted this weekend. TriMet offered shuttle buses between the Gateway Transit Center and 122nd Avenue.
TriMet had a similar closure in June that only impacted westbound I-84. During that closure, there were bottlenecks at the I-84-I-205 interchange.
According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, about 55,000 cars a day flow each direction through the closure area.