Jackson Street Improvement Project

The City of Milwaukie and TriMet are partnering to rebuild the Jackson Street streetscape from 21st to Main Street and add new, high-quality shelters and other amenities, to improve the area for transit users and the general public.

The project, in combination with future TriMet service changes to reduce layovers and add new bus stops at Washington Ave., fulfills the highest priority transit project identified in the City’s Transportation System Plan.

The City and TriMet contributed funds to engineering; the majority of project costs will be paid by federal ARRA/“stimulus” funds and Federal Transit Administration grant funds. The federal ARRA/”stimulus” funds are Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) monies, allocated regionally, and administered by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Total project cost, including new shelters, is approximately $1.3 million. The City’s share is expected to be less than $40,000.

Harper Houf Peterson Righellis is providing design engineering and construction engineering services on the project. Civil Works NW was the low bidder for civil construction and will be brought under contract in April. TriMet has contracted with Trueform to fabricate the new bus shelters.

The streetscape elements were designed in accordance with the guidelines of the City’s Public Area Requirements. The shelter selection process was informed by several discussions with the City’s Design & Landmarks Committee (DLC) and a public open house that addressed all project elements in June 2009.

The Jackson Street Improvement Project includes the following elements:

Full reconstruction of Jackson Street and associated streetscape (i.e., sidewalks, etc.) between Main and 21st Avenue.
Relocating utilities under-ground. (The picture here illustrates the visual impact of the existing above-ground utilities.)
New bus shelters, consolidating the existing scattered grouping of bus shelters along Jackson and 21st Avenue to two high-quality shelters on Jackson. (The picture below shows the larger shelter, which will be on the north side of Jackson Street just off Main Street.)

Stormwater pre-treatment facilities (i.e. rain gardens).
Street furniture, street trees, trash cans, pedestrian-scale lighting, and City medallions, in conformance with the streetscape design specified in the Public Area Requirements element of the Downtown and Riverfront Land Use Framework.

Civil construction is expected to start in May or June, and will be coordinated with construction of the Jackson Street sculpture garden. Construction will run through the summer, during which time Jackson Street will be closed, and TriMet buses will be re-routed. Once the civil construction stage is complete, TriMet’s contractor will install the new bus shelters.

In order to avoid disturbing any migratory birds that might nest this spring, the City chose to remove the existing tree tops in February. The project will plant nine new street trees: a Red Sunset maple and eight Skyline Honey-locusts. These trees are more appropriate for the location. The oak trees that were removed had been damaged by pruning and were starting to lift sidewalks. (See picture below.) In addition, seven “accent” trees will be planted, including five Dogwoods and two Pacific Crabapples.

For general information on the project, contact: Alex Campbell, Resource and Economic Development Specialist for the City, at (503) 786-7608 or campbella@ci.milwaukie.or.us. For questions specifically related to TriMet, please contact Young Park, Project Manager, at ParkY@trimet.org or (503) 962-2138.