Shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday, TriMet managed to pull a car blocking MAX trains out of the Robertson Tunnel. (Wait. Does that Hyundai have rainbows painted on it?)

The adventurous driver brought MAX service between the Tualatin Valley and downtown Portland to a halt for three hours -- the entire span of the morning commute. After inspecting the tracks for damage, the transit agency resumed MAX service at about 9 a.m.

Twenty years ago, TriMet engineers built barriers along Southwest Jefferson Avenue to prevent this exact commuting nightmare from happening.

So how did the driver manage to get into the tunnel just as the morning transit commute started rolling? As the Death Star taught us, there’s a weak point in every infrastructure.

Roberta Altstadt, a TriMet spokeswoman, said it appears the motorist entered where the road crosses the tracks at Goose Hollow Station and then drove west.

Jamees Edmund Dejarnette, 28, was under the influence of intoxicants when he drove his car into the tunnel, police said.



Tracing Dejarnette’s route on Google Maps, it’s impossible to imagine that he didn’t realize that something was amiss.

Here's the route (notice that Google suggests drivers use Southwest Jefferson Street, not the MAX tracks).

Dejarnette went at least a bumpy third of a mile -- going under the Vista Bridge along the way -- before entering the eastern mouth of the tunnel running under Washington Park.

Meanwhile, after shifting all trains to the eastbound tracks became too much of hassle, TriMet switched to shuttle buses, turning a normally direct train route through the West Hills into a roundabout bus ride. Morning commuters were less than pleased with the decision.

In fact, some riders were asking, “Are these shuttle buses invisible?”

Here’s a sample from Twitter:

Yes. Yes it is.

Of course, this isn't the first time that a car has made its way into the Robertson Tunnel to plug up MAX traffic.

Maybe it’s time for TriMet to improve road signage approaching the tunnel?

Or how about pit-like car traps? Seriously, that's a thing. Calgary Transit uses the traps effectively to prevent vehicles from using the bus right of way.

-- Joseph Rose