MAX service returns to PDX as TriMet wraps east section of 'Better Red' project

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The MAX red line station reopened at the Portland International Airport on March 4 after a six-week closure that required MAX passengers to take shuttles to and from the airport and added as much as an hour to the standard commute.

The suspended red line service returned Monday morning, when TriMet celebrated the completion of the eastern section of its “Better Red MAX Extension and Reliability Improvements Project.” The eastern half of the project adds two new bridges over I-84 and I-205, taking passengers between PDX and the new Gateway North MAX Station.

Mayor Ted Wheeler was among the city officials who spoke at Monday's christening of the new station.

"The new Gateway North MAX Station will greatly improve service reliability in what is a very busy and a very vital transit corridor for our community," Wheeler said. "It better connects PDX to downtown and neighborhoods to commercial and cultural centers all throughout our community."

The Gateway North station is the first new MAX station in nine years and is expected to improve train reliability by separating the red line from the single set of tracks shared by multiple MAX lines in the area. The $215 million project will also add 10 more Red Line stops along the existing Blue Line stations between Beaverton and Hillsboro, offering more passengers a direct route to PDX. The western extension is expected to open in late August.

"So many partners, so many people, so many groups and organizations came together to make this a reality," Wheeler said. "We are standing here today in this parking garage in this new station as a testament to the reality that when we work together in this community, we get things done."