By the squeaker margin of 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent, Tigard voters have cleared the way for TriMet to continue with plans to create a light rail corridor from Portland to Tualatin.

More than 25,000 Tigard residents cast ballots, and 130 more voted "yes" than "no" on whether to end the city's formal opposition to rail running through their city, election returns show.

The measure was one of the closest in the metro area on the Nov. 8 ballot, but not close enough to force a recall.

The outcome reversed a 2014 vote by Tigard residents to ban light rail from city property.

Don't look to hop a MAX ride from Portland to Bridgeport Village any time soon, however. The project, expected to eventually cost about $2.5 billion, isn't slated to be completed until 2025.

The Tigard vote doesn't commit the city or its taxpayers to help pay for the new light rail line. But that could end up happening. Metro and TriMet leaders are considering a 2018 transportation funding measure that would likely include the Southwest Corridor, as well as other major transportation projects, such as the widening of Interstate 5 at the Rose Quarter bottleneck.

By a wide margin, Tigard voters turned down a gas tax increase to pay for repairs and improvements to the city's streets.

Reporter Elliot Njus contributed to this report.

-- Betsy Hammond