Hillsboro: Bus Platform, Bike Signals on TriMet’s List of Possible TV Highway Cuts

A station platform in Hillsboro and planned bike signals at Minter Bridge Road are on a list of possible TV Highway bus project cuts that TriMet staff prepared for the project’s Policy & Budget Committee on Oct. 19. Both sit in a group the Oct. 19 presentation labels for use “if $40M ask is not successful,” and the deck poses the list as questions for discussion.

The project would turn Line 57, which TriMet calls Washington County’s highest-ridership bus line at about 40,000 weekly trips, into FX (Frequent Express) service on a 16.2-mile route. The project page says service would start in fall 2030, and the project’s citizen advisers return to the topic in Hillsboro on Nov. 16.

A $284 million estimate and a state ask

Slide 19 shows the project’s cost estimate at 15% design, a total of $284 million: $175 million for construction with right of way, $20 million for vehicles, $56 million for professional services and $33 million for contingency and risk.

To bridge a funding gap, staff ran a value engineering exercise, which the deck defines as lowering cost “while maintaining or improving” core performance. Slide 20 says a $10 million cut lets TriMet shape a $40 million request to the state. It adds that, to keep a 50/50 federal match, “every $1 cut from budget means losing $2 in scope.”

The 2027 Legislature is set to adjourn by June 19, according to a Sept. 21 advisory committee deck, and the Oct. 19 timeline marks the state funding decision for June 2027. Meanwhile, a Sept. 23 memo asked TriMet’s board to approve up to $1,057,000 for a Sundt-Tapani joint venture to act as CM/GC.

That term, construction manager/general contractor, means a builder hired during design to estimate costs and manage risk while preparing to build. TriMet’s past-meetings page did not yet list minutes of that board meeting on Oct. 21.

Three groups, and what riders would notice

Slide 21 sorts the ideas into three groups. “Project Refinement,” about $11 million, holds items staff already expect to pursue. “In Conflict with Project Goals,” about $21 million, holds items staff do not believe fit those goals. “Up for Consideration” covers up to an additional $33 million.

Savings appear as dollar-sign bands, not exact figures. The value engineering handout sets $ at $100,000 to $1 million, $$ at $1 million to $3 million, $$$ at $3 million to $5 million, $$$$ at $5 million to $7 million and $$$$$ at $7 million or more. It marks nine items as ones riders would see or feel.

The handout calls all savings approximate and subject to change. Minutes of the Oct. 19 meeting were not yet in the committee’s online library on Oct. 21.

The 30th and 67th entry

The platform line is the only item on the list that names Hillsboro. TriMet’s station list shows 30th Ave and 67th Ave as separate stops, with 44th Ave, Brookwood Ave and Century Blvd between them. The documents do not say whether the item would affect one platform or more, and the version shown to advisers on Sept. 21 read “between 24th/30th and 67th station pair.”

Slide 18 of the Oct. 19 deck lists “41 station pairs” and the Hillsboro Transit Center stop among core elements “not impacted,” without explaining how the platform item fits that count. The same slide keeps transit signal priority, which TriMet describes as helping keep buses moving through traffic.

What advisers said about crossings

Street crossings are the other Hillsboro thread, and the Community Advisory Committee has already weighed in. Slide 9 says members preferred pedestrian hybrid beacons, which a federal traffic manual says “warn and control traffic” at a crosswalk, over rectangular rapid flashing beacons, yellow lights that flash rapidly beside a crossing sign.

The handout calls that beacon swap a “Safety trade-off,” while the Oct. 19 slide says “Pedestrian access trade-off.” Members also voiced a “strong desire” for bike signals at the four major intersections. Minter Bridge is the westernmost of the four, and the station list places its stop between 13th Ave and 24th Ave.

Weighing in before Nov. 16

Slide 9 says the topic returns at the committee’s November meeting “for a deeper dive” before the Federal Transit Administration’s own review, which the timeline places in November and December. The committee page lists that meeting for Monday, Nov. 16, 6 to 7:30 p.m., at the Charles D. Cameron Public Services Building, 155 N. First Ave. in Hillsboro.

The page says meetings are open, include time for brief written or spoken comments and stream on Zoom. Interpreters can be requested at 503-962-8245 at least 48 hours ahead. Riders who cannot attend can reach the project team at [email protected] or 503-962-2150, the contacts on its get involved page.

Top image: File photo, 2023: a Line 57 bus bound for Forest Grove at Hillsboro Transit Center. Photo: Steve Morgan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).