SW Main Street (1st to 3rd Ave)

Transportation
Completed
Southwest Main Street, a key entrance into downtown Portland for people biking, walking, and driving, has received a much-needed face-lift, with recent completion of a rebuild of the pavement and realignment of the bike lane, thanks to the voter-approved Fixing Our Streets Program.
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Complete Winter 2017
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Project Background

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The project was originally planned to rebuild the pavement on SW Main St from the intersection with First Avenue to the intersection at Second Ave. Thanks to clear weather and close collaboration between PBOT staff and our construction contractor, the project was extended. We were able to expand new, smooth pavement to Third Avenue, with safety improvements there as well.

The project greatly improved a section of failing roadway that serves as a main entrance to downtown Portland from the Hawthorne Bridge. The pavement was cracked, buckling, and sagging. People riding bicycles westbound on the bridge, one of the busiest bike routes in North America, found it difficult to navigate the road surface. The road striping had bus and bicycle traffic weaving in the middle of the intersection.

Project Components

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The project replaced the base underneath the road surface and provided new asphalt that extends the life of the pavement by 15 to 20 years. A concrete bus pad at the transit stop further ensures the resiliency of the street improvements.

A new bikeway design provided a bike box to increase visibility of people on bicycles at SW Main and First Ave. It provides new green striping to highlight areas that are bike only, as well green dashes for areas where bike traffic and vehicle traffic intersect or weave. Green boxes also mark places at intersections where people riding bikes are recommended to change direction.

Read a blog post about this project.