Project name: A Better Red

Location: Portland to Hillsboro

Size: 2,178,000 square feet

Cost: $215 million

Completion: September 2024

Owner/Developer: TriMet

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 91ĘÓƵ 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 MAX Red Line 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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Beyond professional contributions, Alexander leads numerous community engagement initiatives, both organizing and personally participating in volunteer efforts. He regularly commits his time and financial support to charitable causes, demonstrating dedication to community improvement.
Alexander advocates for disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs), creating opportunities for small businesses to participate in projects and succeed.

“Having worked with Michael throughout my 17-year career, I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award,” wrote Chris Orueta, Stacy Witbeck project manager, when nominating Alexander for All-Star recognition. “He is not only an exceptional colleague but also a great friend who has consistently demonstrated professionalism, dedication, and integrity.”

Outside work, Alexander balances his career with family life as a father of three. His combination of professional excellence and personal commitment has established him as a cornerstone of the Stacy Witbeck team and a respected industry leader.

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TriMet is continuing to improve its MAX light-rail system, and on Monday an overhaul of tracks and infrastructure began in Hillsboro.

Crews with general contractor Stacy & Witbeck Inc. started demolishing asphalt and concrete along Southwest Washington Street in preparation for the replacement of old track, switches and other items. The work is taking place along approximately a mile of the blue line track, from the Hatfield Government Center station to the Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station.

The scope of work in Hillsboro will include upgrading five electrical switches for better functionality in cold weather, and replacing signal equipment and sections of track bed at three crossings.

However, the main focus of the Hillsboro work is the replacement of a switch that allows trains to change tracks as they enter or leave the Hatfield Government Center station at the blue line’s western end. For several weeks, crews will be demolishing old asphalt and concrete around the embedded tracks, as well as preparing for replacement of a curved section of track that leads into the station.

“The track and signal replacement is almost two blocks long,” TriMet project manager David Sauter said. “It’s especially complicated beca

use it’s an embedded double crossover. This is why they’re going to be doing preparatory work over the next four weeks, so when the 15-day shutdown begins they’ll have demo’d all the asphalt and concrete from around the rails.”

Four MAX stations – Hatfield Government Center, Hillsboro Central/SE 3rd Avenue Transit Center, Tuality Hospital/SE 8th Avenue and Washington/SE 12th Avenue will be closed from Oct. 13 through Oct. 27. During this time, the bumpy safety tiles along the edges of the stations’ platforms will be replaced. That work will be performed by Brown Contracting and Raimore Construction.

When that closure comes, Sauter said, a race against the clock will begin for work in the entire section.

“During that time they’ll come into this area,” he said. “And they’ll start ripping out all the rails. They’ll start digging and getting everything prepped for new signal connections, new drainage connections, and then eventually the new base layer and track comes in.”

Once the new sections of track are welded into place, rubber “boots” will be placed on sections of embedded track not pre-encapsulated.

All sections of new track procured for this project are coming from steel mills in Romania, where firms still have the ability to produce the girder rails used in TriMet’s system. The rails are shaped to provide a protective flange-work and allow the tracks to be embedded in city streets.

“We don’t have any (manufacturers) in the U.S. that can do that lateral rail,” Sauter said. “So all of the girder rail switches had to be machined outside the U.S. The materials are very similar with the metallurgy, but it’s something we just can’t get here.”

Once work on the tracks is complete, concrete pours will take place along the sections of new track. Regular MAX service is expected to resume on Oct. 28.

“This was the last piece of blue line to be built,” Sauter said. “It was turned over in the mid- to late ’90s, so if you think about that, we’ve gotten about 20 years of service from that. And we’re expecting to get 20 or 25 years more service on this.”

The work is part of a series of TriMet initiatives over the past several years to improve MAX infrastructure. In 2016 and 2017, major track, rail and switch improvements were performed on Southwest Morrison and Yamhill streets at First and 11th avenues in downtown Portland and the Rose Quarter Transit Center. Then, earlier this year, switch improvements and other work was carried out around the Providence Park station.

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The Portland City Council honored eight contractors for socially-responsible business practices at its Wednesday meeting, presenting company representatives with glass trophies for “Business Equity Performance” – achieving minority hiring goals on public projects.

“These contractors have been doing great work,” Mayor Charlie Hales said. “We obviously have to have a reciprocal understanding with the construction industry about getting this work done the right way. We really appreciate you all for being good partners with us.”

Three firms were recognized in the small project category ($200,000 to $10 million):

• Titan Utilities of Beaverton, for a Bureau of Environmental Services sewer-replacement project at Southeast Salmon Street and 23rd Avenue;

• Baseline Industrial Construction of Portland, for its work at the BES’ Alder Creek Fish Passage project; and

• Dirt and Aggregate Interchange of Fairview, for three Portland Bureau of Transportation projects – the Curry Closure safety improvement at Southwest Macadam Avenue and Southwest Curry Street, a sidewalk infill at Southeast 136th Avenue from Holgate Boulevard to Powell Boulevard, and work on North Vancouver Avenue from Russell Street to North Monroe Street.

One construction manager-general contractor was honored in the large project category ($10 million and above):

• Stacy & Witbeck of Portland, for PBOT’s Southwest Moody Avenue road and streetcar track relocation.

Three contractors were recognized for efforts aiding the Portland Housing Bureau:

• LMC Inc. of Tualatin, for two projects – the Otesha Place apartment complex and Greenview Apartments;

• R&H Construction of Portland, for the Kehillah Housing project; and

• O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders of Portland, for the Beech Street Community Apartments.

One contractor was honored for its work on a Portland Development Commission project:

• Bremik Construction of Portland, for the Portland Mercado on Southeast Foster Road. – Garrett Andrews

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The 184-foot span of the new Lafayette Street pedestrian overcrossing was lifted into place Dec. 23 in Southeast Portland’s Brooklyn neighborhood. Part of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project, the new bridge will allow pedestrians to cross over Union Pacific rail tracks between Southeast Rhine and Lafayette Streets. The bridge replaces an older wooden overcrossing dating to the early 1940’s that was demolished this past summer.

The 70-ton steel span was fabricated in Tigard by Fought & Company, then shipped in three pieces to Portland and assembled on site. Crews with Ness & Campbell Crane and ironworkers with REFA Erection set the span in place. Lorentz Bruun Construction will continue working on the deck, installing stairs and elevators on the bridge, which is slated to open in the summer of 2015.

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is converting a Southeast Portland warehouse that will be used by for the Portland-Milwaukie light-rail project.

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Stacy and Witbeck is seekign pricing for Tree Removal and Disposal, Survey, and Quality Control. Bid packages will be available on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 12:00 PM.

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Stacy & Witbeck | MOWAT is requesting subcontractor bids for the Portland to Milwaukie Light Rail Project- West Segment. Scope of work includes: Quality Control Inspection, Sampling and Testing. Bids are due October 7, 2011 at 3:00 PM. A pre-bid meeting will be held at Stacy & Witbeck | MOWAT field office located at 3030 SW Moody Ave., Suite 106, Portland, OR 97201 on September 27, 2011 at 1:00 PM.

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