What's Happening Now
Construction Update (last updated March 2023):
The City of Portland's contractor Landis & Landis Construction, LLC began major construction work on June 14, 2021 along SW Capitol Highway. A detour of southbound traffic began on August 18, 2021 and will last through late Spring 2023. See our FAQ page about the detour. The project is scheduled to be complete in spring 2023. Inclement weather, material shortages, illness, and/or labor shortages could affect the schedule.
Join other local residents for SW Strolls, our new walking series highlighting ways to get around the neighborhood including the new SW Capitol Highway. Our first event is April 1. Check out the event page for more information and sign up for the SW Strolls Newsletter.
The first full year of construction on the project saw installation of over 7,000 linear feet of stormwater pipe, over 3,000 linear feet of earthquake-resistant water main, three out of four large stormwater treatment gardens, and 13 roadside retaining walls.
Work for the remainder of 2023 will focus on constructing the concrete multi-use paths, sidewalks, curbs, ADA ramps, driveway connections on SW Capitol Highway and constructing ADA ramps on SW Multnomah Blvd & SW 40th Ave. This work began in June 2022 on the west side of SW Capitol Highway and in September 2022 transitioned to the east side. Driveway closures of at least two weeks are necessary during this work, so we appreciate the patience of those impacted.
The overall project schedule is extended into late spring 2023. However, the work in 2023 is less impactful, focusing on landscaping, final paving, and installation of signage and striping. The southbound detour is likely to be extended through at least March 2023.
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2021 Virtual Open Houses:
A live presentation and Q&A session took place on Zoom the evening of Thursday, June 10th, 2021. You can watch the video here.
Construction news and project updates
Project Description
Below is a map of the main features of the project. Scroll past the map for a more detailed description.
This project will improve safety and mobility for all modes of travel while improving stormwater management, protecting water quality in local streams, and updating water supply infrastructure to meet modern demands. Portland’s Bureau of Transportation, Bureau of Environmental Services, and Water Bureau are working on the project together to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance service delivery to the Portland community.
The project will add a continuous sidewalk and protected bike lane on the east side of SW Capitol Highway, and a multi-use path on the west side of the street, from SW Taylors Ferry Road to SW Garden Home Road. The project will collect and convey stormwater runoff through inlets and pipes to four new stormwater treatment and detention basins located nearby. The project also will upgrade the SW Capitol Highway water main to a larger, more seismically-resilient pipe between SW Marigold Street and SW Garden Home Road, with additional main replacement on SW Carson Street.
Please note that this project involves traffic detours. Starting in August 2021, all southbound traffic on SW Capitol Highway was diverted to SW 45th and 48th Avenues via SW Garden Home Road, and returning to SW Capitol Highway via SW Taylors Ferry Road. This includes TriMet buses. This detour will remain in place through March 2023 to help the contractor complete the project in a more safe, efficient fashion. In addition, northbound traffic and TriMet buses often have to be detoured during work hours for contractors to safely perform work. PBOT will issue Traffic Advisories in advance of major traffic changes.
Project Background
Providing sidewalks and bike lanes on this segment of SW Capitol Highway has been a community priority for nearly 30 years. This segment, between SW Garden Home Road and SW Taylors Ferry Road, hosts over 8,000 vehicles per day, is served by TriMet’s #44 bus line, and currently has no sidewalks, bike lanes, pedestrian crossings or standard stormwater facilities.
The city’s project development process for this corridor began with the Capitol Highway Plan in 1996 and continued with the SW Capitol Highway Plan Refinement Report in 2011 and the Capitol Highway Corridor Stormwater Concept Design in 2016. In each of these cases, the city faced challenges in developing a buildable project with limited funding and challenging physical constraints.
In 2016 and 2017 sufficient funding came together from the voter-approved "Fixing Our Streets" ten-cent gas tax, development charges, Environmental Services, Water Bureau, and the State of Oregon, allowing the project to advance. The project team worked closely with the community from 2016 through 2020 to refine the design and discuss property and neighborhood impacts and benefits.
Project Funding
This joint PBOT-BES-PWB project is funded through the Fixing Our Streets city gas tax, Transportation System Development Charges, Oregon Lottery-backed bonds authorized by the 2017 State Legislature, Bureau of Environmental Services funds, and Water Bureau funds. Fixing Our Streets is contributing roughly $6.6 million of the total project budget of $27.5 million, making this the largest project funded by the Fixing Our Streets program. The original construction contract value is approximately $14 million, with remaining funds attributed to planning, design engineering, right-of-way acquisition, project management, and construction management and inspection.