A rendering of a possible station design for the Division Transit Project, which would replace part of TriMet's Line 4 bus route with a high-capacity express bus line. These proposed "island" stations could be used on the eastern segments of the route, where Southeast Division Street is wider. (TriMet)

Elliot Njus | The Oregonian/OregonLive

A proposal to run a high-capacity express line bus along Southeast Division Street between Gresham and Portland faces a $14 million shortfall, and resolving it could delay the project by a year.

TriMet officials say they can handle the shortfall without scaling back the project’s scope or level of service. But a three-month “recalibration” would put the project out of consideration for federal funding this year, pushing opening day back to 2022 at the earliest.

“It certainly represents a time-out,” said Steve Witter, TriMet’s executive director of capital projects.

Planners are trying to squeeze the new line into a $175 million budget, the limit for a Federal Transit Administration program that expected to foot half the bill. (TriMet’s MAX Orange Line, in comparison, cost $1.49 billion.)

But the bill has grown to $189 million, mostly due to unexpected costs only tangentially related to the project, such as the replacement of traffic signals hung from cables rather than steel poles.

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A rendering of a station integrated with the sidewalk, a design that could be used on the narrower stretches of Southeast Division Street. (TriMet)

Some possible cost-cutting options include redesigning certain intersections to minimize the need to buy roadside real-estate and reducing the height of boarding platforms at stops, which would require riders to step up to the bus. The rapid line buses would have ramps.

The project has already been pruned back for budget reasons.

A route that would have connected to Mount Hood Community College was dropped because it would be too expensive. At the time, one of the state’s primary goals was to create a fast transit link from the Gresham campus to the Portland Community College Southeast Campus and Oregon Health & Science University, as well as several high schools along the way.

A segment along Powell Boulevard, another high-demand transit corridor in Southeast Portland, was eliminated when planners concluded it would be no faster than existing options for many riders.

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The Division transit project would replace the Southeast Portland segment of TriMet's Line 4 with higher-capacity express buses. (Mark Graves/Staff)

In its current iteration, the Division Transit Project would connect downtown Portland with the Cleveland Park & Ride in Gresham. It would use 60-foot buses, which can hold more riders than TriMet’s typical 40-foot buses, and stop less frequently, shaving time off the trip.

Like MAX, it would use a proof-of-payment system, allowing riders to board through multiple doors.

Much of the project’s cost comes from buying new buses as well as infrastructure improvements along the way, including boarding platforms and traffic signals that let buses roll past queued traffic.

TriMet says the new line will cut travel times by 20 percent and make buses along Division — often at capacity during peak hours — more reliable.

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A map of the proposed route and stations. Click to view the map full size. (TriMet)

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com

503-294-5034

@enjus