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TriMet recently kicked off a five-year, $22 million project to replace or upgrade 19 separate elevators serving MAX light-rail platforms and other multilevel facilities run by the agency.

Work started last month with the replacement of the outdoor elevator at the Northeast 60th Avenue MAX station and will proceed with the replacement of the outdoor elevator at the Northeast 82nd Avenue station. Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty company, was selected as the general contractor for the project; KONE is performing the specialized elevator work.

鈥淭hey’re going to be done one at a time,鈥� TriMet public information officer Tim Becker said.

Work will be split into four packages. The first three stations to receive replacement elevators will be at Northeast 60th Avenue, Northeast 82nd Avenue and the Hollywood Transit Center at Northeast 42nd Avenue.

A construction manager-general contractor delivery method was chosen, TriMet project manager Kaliska Day said, because of the particular type of work being done and the region’s ongoing shortage of skilled tradespeople.

鈥淧ortland is a really small market, and especially right now a lot of the smaller firms are stretched thin as it is,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he other thing that makes this difficult is that the project is really just around the elevators. There isn’t a lot of scope of work to hand out. Ninety percent of this will be done by the elevator contractor.鈥�

The elevators being replaced have a life expectancy of between 25 to 30 years and simply are wearing out. This is especially true of the ones serving the MAX blue line, which was built in 1986.

The work for each elevator is expected to take 12 to 14 weeks, during which time it will be inoperable. It will involve replacement of all the components of the elevator cabs, including the electronics, mechanical and HVAC equipment, along with panels and doors. The work will not involve modifying or replacing the actual elevator shafts.

Additional TriMet staffers will be manning the stations that are under construction.

鈥淲e’ll have personnel there all the time,鈥� Becker said. 鈥淲e’re going to great lengths to make sure riders are inconvenienced as little as possible.鈥�

Notably, just 11 of the 19 elevators being replaced are used by the public. The Washington Park MAX station, which sits 260 feet below ground, has four elevators that will be replaced. That effort will stand out, Day said.

鈥淭he biggest one that’s going to be different is Washington Park,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is its own unique elevator, and it’s the only one that’s completely different.鈥�

Work on the Northeast 60th Avenue station elevator began May 17. It began operating in 1986, serving an average of more than 1,500 riders each weekday.

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Elevator construction packages

Package 1: Hollywood Transit Center, Northeast 60th Avenue and Northeast 82nd Avenue

Package 2: Gresham City Hall Park & Ride, Sunset Transit Center (three elevators) and Washington Park (four elevators)

Package 3: Center Street Administration Building (two elevators) and Center Street Garage (two elevators)

Package 4: Elmonica/Southwest 170th Avenue, Merlo Road and Ruby Junction (two elevators)