rail construction – Daily Journal of Commerce /news/tag/rail-construction/ Building and Construction News in Portland, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest Mon, 16 Jun 2025 22:36:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.6 /files/2023/08/favicon.webp rail construction – Daily Journal of Commerce /news/tag/rail-construction/ 32 32 A Better Red /news/2025/06/16/trimet-max-red-line-expansion-completion/ Mon, 16 Jun 2025 20:55:33 +0000 /?p=509959 TriMet’s MAX Red Line expansion improves system reliability, adds 10 stations, and delivers major infrastructure upgrades on time and on budget.

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Photo courtesy of Stacy Witbeck
Project name: A Better Red

Location: Portland to Hillsboro

Size: 2,178,000 square feet

Cost: $215 million

Completion: September 2024

Owner/Developer:

Engineer: Parametrix

General Contractor: Stacy Witbeck

Other Consultants/Key Participants: Akana, David Evans & Associates, Emerio Design, Hatch, NNA Landscape, Perkins & Will, Shannon & Wilson

Submitting Company: Stacy Witbeck

Key Partnerships: City of Beaverton, City of Hillsboro, City of Portland, Federal Highway Administration, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, Oregon Department of Transportation, Pacific Power, Port of Portland, Portland International Airport, Union Pacific Railroad

Subcontractors: 1 Alliance Geomatics, 3 Diamond Construction, A2 Metals dba A2 Fabrication, Able Fence, ACMS Northwest, ADS System Safety Consulting, Advanced Railway Innovations, Affordable Electric, Alcantar and Associates, Aligned Engineering, Apply-A-Line, Armadillo Underground, Ascending Optics, Azuri Construction, B&G Excavating & Plumbing, Badger Daylighting, Bar-M Steel Commercial, Brothers Concrete Cutting, C&L Metal Sales, C.O.A.T. Flagging, C3M Power Systems, Cadman, CalPortland, Cannon Construction, Capital Industries, CBK Constructors, Champion Sweeping, City of Roses Disposal and Recycling, Clark Moore Trucking, Complete Fusion Welding, Concrete Technology, Custom Hole Drilling, Cutter Construction, Dan Jones Inc., DeWitt Construction, DirtLogic, Eagle Striping Services, Earth Dynamics, Espousal Strategies, Eugene William Construction, Faison Construction, Farwest Steel Reinforcing, Ferguson Waterworks, FM Burch and Associates, Gateway Trucking, Gulf Control, Harmer Steel, Herrera Environmental Consultants, Highway Specialized Transport, Holland LP, Iron Horse, J.H. Kelly, JL Storedahl & Sons, Jobsite Stud Welding, Knife River Corp.-NW, KT Contracting, LB Foster, Legend Custom Woodworking, Lemus Construction, Loram Maintenance of Way, LYB Trucking, Magnum Power, Maxim Crane, McDonald & Wetle, McDonald Excavating, McKinstry Essention, Metal Acoustic Commercial Kraft, Michels Foundations, Modern Railway Systems, MR Tree, National Precast, National Railroad Safety Services, Ness Campbell, Northwest Security and 91Ƶ Services, Northwest Testing, Norton Corrosion Limited, OlsenBeal Associates, Omega Industries, O’Neill Construction Group, ORE Vac West, Oregon Door Consultants, Oregon On-Site Concrete, Orgo-Thermit, Pacific Foundation, Pandrol Industries, Paramount Security Solutions, PBS Engineering and Environmental, Pipeline Video Inspection, Platt Anchor Bolt, Polycorp, Portland Mechanical Contractors, Potelco, Povey & Associates Land Surveying, Pro Build Renovations, Progress Rail, PTS Surveying, PureSpace – A Biodynamic Company, Ralph’s Concrete Pumping, Redmond Heavy Hauling, Reinforced Earth, River City Environmental, S2 Imaging, Santiam Heating & Cooling, Schonert & Associates, Scougal Rubber, Shadow Guard Security, Sign Wizards, Statewide Rent-A-Fence of Oregon, Strongwell, Summit QM, Taurus Power and Controls, Team Electric, TFT Construction, The Fiber Guys, Utah Pacific Bridge & Steel, V. Van Dyke, VAK Construction Engineering Services, Valley Growers Nursery & Landscape, Vancouver Paving, Voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak, Watson Bowman Acme

TriMet’s Extension and Reliability Improvements Project, known as “A Better Red,” was completed on time and on budget despite the complexity of working on an active rail system.

The project, one of TriMet’s most ambitious in a decade, expanded the MAX Red light rail line to 10 additional stations and eliminated long-standing bottlenecks to improve system-wide reliability.

Stacy Witbeck served as the Construction Manager/General Contractor on the project, which was divided into three independently-managed segments. These included extending the MAX Red Line west into Hillsboro, constructing two new double-tracked sections between Portland International Airport and Gateway Transit Center, and building two new bridges and the Gateway North Station.

Successfully executing a project of this scale required close coordination between TriMet, Stacy Witbeck, and 127 subcontractors and suppliers. The project had a superb safety record: zero lost time incidents over nearly 470,000 hours worked.

Among the technical achievements was the construction of a steel girder bridge over Interstate 84 and Union Pacific Railroad tracks, requiring a rigorous five-step sequence for bridge deck placement. Engineers adhered to strict tolerances and camber specifications to ensure structural integrity.

For the Gateway Green Bridge, the team incorporated a precast concrete straddle bent cap to reduce construction time over active light rail tracks. This innovative approach minimized service disruptions and mitigated safety hazards associated with working near the energized overhead catenary system.

The project team exceeded Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Certified Small Business participation goals, awarding $30.5 million in contracts to 57 certified firms: 23 percent of construction work and 21 percent of design work was performed by DBEs, surpassing original targets. In addition, Stacy Witbeck partnered with Portland Community College’s Construction Engineering Technology Program to engage students in real-world construction applications. A Better Red also served as a training ground for the next generation of skilled workers. As a certified training agent with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, IUOE Local 701 and AGC JATC, Stacy Witbeck ensured that apprentices played an active role in the project.

“The leadership, perseverance, and dedication demonstrated during this project were critical to its success,” said Sam Desue Jr., TriMet’s general manager, in the project nomination form. “… the project team brought this vision to life – expanding access, enhancing reliability, and strengthening our communities through transit.”

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