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A plan to extend聽 MAX light-rail tracks through the southwest Portland suburbs is on track after approval by voters in Tigard.

The proposed Southwest Corridor line would run from Portland south through Tigard before ending at Bridgeport Village in Tualatin.

Narrow passage of the ballot measure 鈥� it was leading Tuesday by only 139 votes out of 25,037 cast 鈥� would mean the city can amend land use regulations to allow construction of light rail infrastructure across wetlands and maintenance yards in certain industrial zones.

鈥淭igard voters have allowed us to keep planning for light rail to come to Tigard,鈥� Mayor John L. Cook stated in a news release.鈥� We will continue to be at the table to bring Tigard’s voice for what light rail will be for this part of the region.鈥�

The vote’s outcome is not certain. Approximately 4,000 ballots that were not machine-readable must still be tallied, and 3,500 more have been challenged, said Mickie Kawai, Washington County’s election manager.

Even if Tigard’s ballot measure passes, the Southwest Corridor line still has a long road ahead. A regional bond measure asking for funding is expected to go before voters in November 2018.

Tigard expects to next summer choose the route that the rail line will take through the city. Project backers will also kick off a federal review process to create a draft environmental impact statement.

A Metro steering committee is meeting to discuss the scope of the environmental review.

The Southwest Corridor Plan, which also includes improvements to serve bicyclists and pedestrians, is critical to Tigard and its neighbors, said Craig Dirksen, a Metro councilor and former mayor of Tigard.

鈥淲e’re anticipating between now and 2040, as many as 700,000 more people will move to metro Portland,鈥� Dirksen said. 鈥淭igard and the Southwest corridor are going to need to be able to accommodate their fair share.鈥�

Better transit is 鈥渞eally vital鈥� for growth, he added.

The implications for development in Tigard and the rest of the southwest suburban area are not entirely clear 鈥� construction is years away, and even the precise route isn’t set. But backers believe a stronger link to fast-growing Portland can only help.

鈥淭he long-term future of the community will be enhanced with light rail,鈥� said Mike Stevenson, who owns a printing business and is an active member of the Downtown Tigard Business Alliance. 鈥淗aving an alternate transportation venue is a real plus. As our freeways get more and more crowded, we’re going to need to find another way to get people around.

鈥淲e think Tigard residents deserve choices as much as any other community.鈥�

Expansion into the Southwest Corridor also would fill a gap in TriMet’s transportation network.

鈥淚t completes one of the last fingers, if you will, of the Portland-metro area,鈥� Stevenson said.

Extension of a light rail line into Tigard means more for the suburb than it does for the region, said Ethan Seltzer, professor of urban studies and planning at Portland State University.

鈥淔undamentally, it means Tigard is interested in being part of the region,鈥� he said.

If Tigard turned back the MAX line, regional transportation investment would go elsewhere, he said.

The MAX line, as envisioned, would terminate at Bridgeport Village, a 500,000-square-foot outdoor mall west of Interstate 5.

鈥淭hat’s historically the way these things got built,鈥� Seltzer said. 鈥淥ld streetcar lines used to go to amusement parks and picnic parks and things like that. In some sense, shopping malls are the amusement parks of our day.鈥�

Better mass transit options could cause state regulators to look more kindly on development in the 鈥淭igard Triangle,鈥� Dirksen said. The area 鈥� bordered by I-5, Oregon Route 99 and Oregon Route 217 鈥� is entirely within the urban growth boundary.

鈥淲ithout improved transportation, the state of Oregon isn’t going to allow Tigard to develop those areas the way they need to be,鈥� he said.

A scoping process drew 1,620 public comments, according to Metro. Most were supportive.

Light rail does have its opponents in Tigard and other suburban areas, however.

鈥淲e know that Tigard residents are very concerned about growth and traffic congestion, and that’s why this vote is so close,鈥� Dirksen said.

In addition to going to voters for funding, backers of a new MAX line are planning to pursue a matching grant from the Federal Transit Authority. It distributes dollars to entities around the nation from a pot for light rail projects that holds about $1 billion annually.

About two dozen U.S. cities are building high-capacity transit infrastructure and are competing for that grant money, Dirksen said.

Planning for the light-rail link through Tigard began in 2011. Major questions remain, including whether the line will leave Southwest Portland from the transit mall down the center of Barbur Boulevard, or stay close to I-5.

In Tigard, the route is not envisioned to go down Barbur, in response to concerns from some local businesses.

Planners decided not to expand to Sherwood. They also decided not to construct tunnels at Marquam Hill or to Portland Community College’s Sylvania campus to reduce projected costs.

Stevenson said the lack of a link to PCC 鈥� a potential major user of the MAX line 鈥� is unfortunate.

鈥淭o not have a direct link to the campus, I think is disappointing,鈥� he said.

The work involves a long roster of agencies and jurisdictions, including the cities of Beaverton, Durham, King City, Portland, Sherwood, Tigard and Tualatin as well as Washington County, TriMet, Metro and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The current timeline for the MAX line shows that it could be constructed by 2025.