Red Electric Bridge, New Trail Signs

[Updated April 23, 2021]

Construction Underway on the New Red Electric Trail Bike and Pedestrian Bridge

Photo taken from Sasquatch Brewing Co. on SW Capitol Hwy on April 21. Trees have been removed and much of the parking lot on the north side of the street has been fenced off for construction staging. Photo courtesy Kellar Autumn.

Construction is expected to be complete in the spring of 2022. Local businesses are open. Visit the Portland Bureau of Transportation website to learn more.

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[Posted March 26, 2021]

An update from SW Trails PDX, Submitted by William Gallagher/SW Trails PDX

Red Electric Bridge Construction to Begin Soon

Among the signs (and sounds) of life you’ll see (and hear) in the Hillsdale neighborhood in April will be the preliminary work on the long-awaited Red Electric Trail bridge across the street from Verde Cocina, Vis A Vis Salon, and Sasquatch Brewing Company.

Approximate bridge route. You can find additional informative articles on the Red Electric Trail project at www.bikeportland,org. Soure: BikePortland.org.

Known for their bright red color, the Red Electrics operated from Portland from 1914 to 1929. The West Side Local continued through Portland’s West Hills along present-day Barbur Boulevard through Burlingame to Bertha (now Hillsdale) to Beaverton, Hillsboro and Forest Grove, then south to McMinnville. Though they only lasted 15 years, the Red Electrics provided modern, fast, quiet and efficient passenger service for the citizens of the Willamette Valley. Buses began to operate in the mid-1920s, and after several years of declining revenues, the Red Electrics made their final run on October 5, 1929. Photo: The West Side Local cut through Portland’s West Hills along present-day Barbur Boulevard through Burlingame to Bertha in Hillsdale. Source: http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/red_electrics.html

The Red Electric Bridge is a feature of the long-term vision of a Red Electric Trail that would stretch 15 miles from the Willamette River to the Tualatin River along a railroad right of way that was abandoned in 1930. The Portland City Council unanimously endorsed that plan in 2000.

When completed in April 2022, the bridge and trail section will provide an alternative for walkers and riders who want to avoid the treacherous section of the south side of Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway leading to and from the Hillsdale shopping district. The Red Electric Bridge project is budgeted at $4.6 million.

Sign up to receive email updates on the project at the PBOT website.

More SW Trails Signs

They are unique and ubiquitous.

The number of brown and white SW Trails PDX signs seen all over SW Portland but nowhere else in the city has been increased by two dozen as the result of a partnership between the walker advocacy group and Portland Parks and Recreation (PP&R).

Smaller-than-usual SW Trail 7 signs were posted in Albert Kelly Park this winter. Photo by Hans Steuch.

New way-finding signs on the urban trail system can be found in Marshall Park (6), Lesser Park (5), Stevens Creek Crossing (3), Albert Kelly Park (2), Woods Memorial Park (2) and April Hill, George Himes and Washington Park (1 each).

SW Trails volunteer and “signs czar” Hans Steuch spearheaded the effort to increase the number of brown and white signs to more than 500. He provided PP&R with a detailed plan for the newest signs and says he is delighted with the partnership that resulted to get the signs installed.

Steuch says his next goal is the installation of SW Trails signs in Gabriel Park, where none currently exist even though sections of Trails 3, 4 and 7 run through the 90-acre park. “We have a plan for 38 signs there but PP&R can’t act on our plan until a new master plan is approved for Gabriel Park,” he said.

For more information on SW Trails PDX and its urban trail network, visit swtrails.org.

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