Starting August 2, the top deck of the Steel Bridge will be closed to all traffic as TriMet undertakes its largest MAX improvement project ever.
From Sunday, Aug. 2, through Saturday, Aug. 29, the upper deck of the Steel Bridge will be closed to auto, bus, MAX light rail, bicycle and pedestrian traffic to accommodate the work. All MAX lines—Blue, Green, Orange, Red and Yellow—will be disrupted. To move people around the disruption, shuttle buses will be running between Rose Quarter, Union Station and Old Town/Chinatown. On Aug. 29 only, the disruption expands and shuttle buses will serve stations between Lloyd Center and Old Town/Chinatown and between Albina/Mississippi Station and Union Station.
Bus lines 4, 8, 35, 44, and 77, as well as all auto traffic, will be detoured to other bridges. Pedestrian and bicyclists will be able to cross the Steel Bridge on the lower-deck pathway, which will remain open during the entire project.
TriMet says this improvement project will have a positive effect for MAX riders system-wide, improving reliability and keeping trains on time. Last August, TriMet completed MAX track and switch improvements in the Rose Quarter area in preparation for this work. This project will build upon those upgrades, resulting in fewer issues that slow or disrupt access across the bridge. The project will also add a much-needed boost to the economy, supporting 450 jobs at an important time for our community.