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Preliminary Alternatives

Oct. 3, 2013

Multiple preliminary alternatives were developed for intercity passenger rail travel between the Eugene-Springfield and Portland-Vancouver, Wash. urban areas, each under the assumption that they would carry up to seven round-trip trains per day. The preliminary alternatives and options are based on the corridor concepts that passed initial screening in January.

The corridor concepts were refined into the preliminary alternatives after extensive stakeholder engagement from February through May and following additional engineering work. Portions of some corridor concepts (e.g., purple) passed the initial screening and are part of preliminary alternatives that also use parts of other corridor concepts. In addition to the main alignment, each preliminary alternative has one or more options that were also evaluated. These options are described below and shown on the accompanying map as dashed lines.

Blue Alternative: The blue alternative generally follows the existing Cascades route, along or near the line between Eugene-Springfield and Portland. It crosses the Willamette River in Portland near Union Station before continuing north, either on or near existing BNSF tracks, to Vancouver, Wash. The blue alternative could use existing stations.

One option for the blue alternative would include adding new track through Parrish Gap south of Salem to shorten the route. A second option would provide a new station east of the Willamette River near Portland’s Rose Quarter, and then continue on new track through northeast and north Portland to Vancouver, Wash.

Red Alternative: The red alternative runs along Interstate 5, either just inside of or near the current highway right of way. It follows I-5 from Springfield to the Interstate 205 interchange. Turning east, it follows I-205 north and Interstate 84 west into central Portland (this section was presented previously as the “brown” corridor concept). North of Union Station in Portland, the red alternative would continue on the BNSF line to Vancouver, Wash.

The red alternative along I-5 and I-205 would be on all new track dedicated to intercity passenger rail service. It would use existing rail lines west of the I-205/I-84 interchange to Vancouver, Wash. The red alternative could use , but would bypass existing stations in Eugene, Albany and Salem. It could include new stations in Springfield, Albany, Salem/Keizer and the southern Portland metro area communities for all passenger trains traveling through Oregon.

Preliminary Alternatives

One option for the red alternative would leave the I-5 corridor south of Albany and use existing track to the existing Albany station and then return to I-5. Another option would provide a route to a new station in Portland’s Rose Quarter and continue through northeast and north Portland to Vancouver, Wash., using an eastside alignment option described above for the blue alternative. For this option, the Portland Union Station would be bypassed.

Purple Alternative: The purple alternative uses portions of the existing Oregon Electric line operated by Portland & Western Railroad. It also includes portions of the blue alignment from the Eugene station to the Eugene rail yard; from south of Albany to Keizer; and from Aurora to Vancouver, Wash. It would follow the Oregon Electric line from the Eugene rail yard to south of Albany, where a new connection to the blue alternative alignment would be built. The purple alternative would leave the blue alternative alignment near Keizer and use the Oregon Electric line to just south of Donald, where a new connection to the blue alternative alignment south of Aurora would be built. This alternative could use the existing stations.

One option for the purple alternative is to go to Wilsonville and then connect to the red alternative alignment. A second option would bypass Aurora before connecting to the blue alternative alignment south of Canby.

Yellow Alternative: The yellow alternative would use the purple alternative alignment from the Eugene station to Junction City. New track would be built from Junction City to Monroe, and then would connect to the existing rail line through Corvallis to Albany, where it would join the blue alternative. This yellow alternative could use most of the existing stations, but it would bypass the Albany station and include a new station in Corvallis.

An option for the yellow alternative is to leave the existing rail line in south Corvallis and build new track along Highway 34 that would connect to the blue alternative south of Albany. This option could use the existing Albany station.

Goals and Objectives

These goals and objectives identify the primary issues the project is intended to address, and will help shape evaluation measures that will be used to assess the preliminary route alternatives. The following goals and objectives reflect comments heard from the six open houses held in January, feedback received from agency representatives and the public through January 22nd and at the Corridor Forum meeting January 25th, and input from the Leadership Council at its January 31st meeting. These goals and objectives were approved by the Leadership Council on January 31st.

Goal 1: Improve passenger rail mobility and accessibility to communities in the Willamette Valley. Objectives:  1A – Provide a viable alternative to auto, air, and bus travel between Eugene and Vancouver, WA.  1B – Provide reliable and frequent passenger rail service.  1C – Support multimodal integration at each passenger rail station.  1D – Allow for future passenger rail improvements, including higher speeds.

Goal 2: Protect freight-rail capacity and investments in the corridor, and maintain safety. Objectives:  2A – Does not increase conflicts between passenger rail or freight rail and vehicles.  2B – Protect freight-rail carrying capability.

Goal 3: Plan, design, implement, maintain, and operate a cost-effective project. Objectives:  3A – Develop a strategy that can be reasonably funded and leveraged with range of investment tools for construction and operation.  3B – Serve the maximum number of people with every dollar invested.

Goal 4: Provide an affordable and equitable travel alternative. Objectives:  4A – Provide a viable and affordable alternative for travelers.  4B – Provide equitable investments and service, with consideration to race/ethnicity and income.

Goals and Objectives Page 1

Goal 5: Be compatible with passenger rail investments planned in Washington State. Objective:  5A – Provide passenger rail service to meet the existing and future passenger rail demand for an interconnected system in the Pacific Northwest High Speed Rail corridor.

Goal 6: Promote community health and quality of life for communities along the corridor. Objectives:  6A – Benefit communities within the corridor.  6B – Minimize negative impacts to communities along the corridor.

Goal 7: Protect and preserve the natural and built environment. Objectives:  7A – Support Oregon’s commitment to the preservation of resource lands and local land use and transportation planning.  7B – Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in support of national and state policies to slow climate change.  7C – Avoid and minimize impacts to the natural environment and cultural resources.

Goals and Objectives Page 2

Evaluation Results

The following charts provide a high-level summary of how the preliminary alternatives performed against the project’s goals and objectives in each of the three analysis sections. The bar graphs show overall performance by section against the project goals. The other charts compare performance against cost; the larger circles in the scatter plots indicate a better score to cost ratio.

Section A – Eugene-Springfield to North of Albany

NOTE: Goal 5 was not considered in the alternatives evaluations because all alternatives met Goal 5.

Performance/Cost Comparison (Larger circles indicate a better score to cost ratio.)

Page 1

Section B – North of Albany to North of Wilsonville

Performance/Cost Comparison (Larger circles indicate a better score to cost ratio.)

Page 2

Section C – North of Wilsonville to Vancouver, WA

Performance/Cost Comparison (Larger circles indicate a better score to cost ratio.)

Page 3 Upcoming Public Meetings

Community Advisory Group meetings

CAG Group Date & Time Location Monday, Oct. 14 Metro Council Chamber Portland 6 - 8:30 p.m. 600 N.E. Grand Ave., Portland, OR 97232 Tuesday, Oct. 15 Linn Benton Community College Albany - Corvallis 6 - 8 p.m. 6500 Pacific Blvd. S.W., Albany, OR 97321 Wednesday, Oct. 16 Broadway Commons Salem - Keizer 6 - 8 p.m. 1300 Broadway St. N.E., Salem, OR 97301 Wednesday, Oct. 23 Willamalane Adult Activity Center Eugene - Springfield 6 - 8 p.m. 215 W. C St., Springfield, OR 97477 Thursday, Oct. 24 West Linn Adult Community Center South Portland Metro 6 - 8:30 p.m. 1180 Rosemont Rd., West Linn, OR 97068 Tuesday, Oct. 29 Greater Jefferson Community Center Rural Group 6 - 8 p.m. 107 N Main St., Jefferson, OR 97352

Public open houses

City Date & Time Location Wednesday, Oct. 30 Milwaukie Center Milwaukie (Briefing) 5 – 6:30 p.m. 5440 SE Kellogg Creek Dr, Milwaukie, OR 97222 Tuesday, Nov. 5 Chemeketa Center for Business and Industry Salem - Keizer 5 - 7 p.m. 626 High St. N.E., Salem, OR, 97301 Wednesday, Nov. 6 Eugene Main Public Library Eugene - Springfield 5 - 7 p.m. 100 W. 10th Ave., Eugene, OR 97401 Thursday, Nov. 7 Linn-Benton Community College Albany - Corvallis 5 - 7 p.m. 6500 Pacific Blvd. S.W., Albany, OR 97321 Tuesday, Nov. 12 Pioneer Community Center Oregon City 4 - 6:30 p.m. 615 Fifth St., Oregon City, OR 97045 Thursday, Nov. 14 PCC Climb Center Portland 5 - 7 p.m. 1626 S.E. Water Ave., Portland, OR 97214 Online Open House Nov. 5 to Nov. 18 www.OregonPassengerRail.org

Leadership Council and Corridor Forum meetings

Meeting Type Date & Time Location Tuesday, Dec. 3 Broadway Commons Corridor Forum 3 - 6 p.m. 1300 Broadway St. N.E., Salem, OR 97301 Tuesday, Dec. 17 Chemeketa Center for Business and Industry Leadership Council 1 - 4 p.m. 626 High St. N.E., Salem, OR 97301