Home » Base Install » News & Info » 1998 » Private Funding for Public Transportation

Private Funding for Public Transportation

July 01, 1998

July 1998—Rarely, if ever, has a large public light rail project gone forward in the United States without federal or state funding. A Bechtel proposal to help finance an 8.8-kilometer light rail extension from downtown Portland, Oregon, to the city's airport might be one of the first.

Bechtel has agreed to share part of the cost for the project in exchange for commercial development rights on a net 48-hectare site near the airport entrance. The large-scale, mixed-use site would help finance Bechtel's investment.

Under the proposal, the Port of Portland would be responsible for financing a station and a 2-kilometer segment of the line. The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District and the City of Portland would assemble a funding package to cover the cost of a 4.6-kilometer segment. Bechtel would bear the cost of a 2.2-kilometer segment. No federal or state funding or new city property taxes would be necessary to complete the project, which is projected to cost between $130 million and $170 million altogether.

Bechtel is already performing preliminary engineering for the project. If approved by the community, construction could begin in 1999 and finish as early as 2001.