Here Comes WES!

Construction was originally scheduled to begin in July 2007. There has been a 6 month delay in the start of the project but TriMet said Tuesday that it would not delay the scheduled opening of the commuter rail.

The Westside Express Service, or WES as it will be called by commuters, is a $117.3 million 14.7-mile commuter rail that will run between the cities of Beaverton and Wilsonville.

This project has been in the works for 11 years and as we finally wound down to go time Haggen Food & Pharmacy started to speak out about improving the design of the station that would sit next to them. They had, had concerns about traffic, parking and pedestrian safety and rallied the neighborhood for support.

Five months later they succeed in getting a new design proposal drawn up by TriMet. Not only was it approved but the Tualatin Development Commission assigned $491,322 to make even more improvements on the station. Improvements like a clock tower, rail platform and shelter that are consistent with the architecture of downtown.

While it is still thought that the deadline of a Sept. 12, 2008 grand opening can still be met, it still might get pushed back because the mayor of each of the cities will attending a national conference.

http://tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=119992441787360700

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