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City Council approved a contract with Stacy and Witbeck, Inc. in the amount $6,636,265 for the Advance Utility Water Main Work for the Portland Streetcar Loop Project. The Loop Project alignment connects to the existing route in the Pearl District on Lovejoy and NW 10th, utilizes the Broadway Bridge, continues east on Weidler, south on NE 7th, west on Oregon, south on MLK to OMSI. Return alignment from OMSI is north on Grand to Broadway, east on Broadway to the Pearl District. This is a 3.3 mile extension with 28 stop locations.
On April 30, 2009, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the Portland Streetcar Loop Project will receive $75 million in Small Starts funds from the Federal Transit Administration. Portland Streetcar is the first streetcar project in the country to receive Small Starts funds. Up until now, only Bus Rapid Transit projects were awarded funding from Small Starts.
In order to most efficiently schedule the work and to deal with long lead items, the City is awarding the work for the Loop Project in phases. The first phase is the Water Main Work. The next phases will be the Advance Sewer/Sanitary Main Work and the Rail Procurement Package. Following will be the main contract covering Civil, Trackwork and Electrical Work, with approval expected in September 2009.
Mayor Sam Adams has advocated for this project every step of the way, providing leadership and determination to bring the streetcar to the eastside. "The eastside streetcar loop is an integral piece of Portland's transportation and economic development puzzle," said Adams. "Getting the work started now means putting people in the building trades back to work, and it sets the stage for the project to get into high gear. This is a great step forward for the City of Portland."
The utility, civil, trackwork and electrification construction of the Loop Project will produce 1330 new jobs. The Oregon Iron Works (OIW) contract will produce 90 new jobs and OIW has developed a very extensive list of local and domestic subcontractors and supplies. Even more important, OIW is at the heart of developing a new U.S. manufacturing industry, located in Oregon.
Representatives Blumenauer and DeFazio were instrumental in getting the Eastside Loop funded. Representatives Schrader and Wu and Senator Wyden and Merkley also supported the Project and showed FTA and the new administration that there was local consensus about the importance of the Loop Project. With the help of then Senator Schrader and then Speaker of the Oregon House Merkley, the City also received support from the State legislature with the approval of $20 million in lottery-backed bond revenues to buy 6 new streetcars from Oregon Iron Works located in Clackamas, OR.
Construction is expected to last 30 months with service starting on April 30, 2012. Visit the Portland Streetcar website for more information.
