Plans for the commuter rail between Beaverton and Wilsonville began as early as 1996, led by Washington County officials.[2] In 2001, the Federal Transit Administration authorized the project, and in 2004 it approved the project,[3] by which time regional transit agency TriMet had taken over as the lead agency in planning the project. Construction began in October 2006.[4] The station was originally planned to be built at Boberg Road, and was later changed to the location on Barber Street as suggested by the Villebois developers.[5]
On March 2, 2007, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the station's site, attended by officials from TriMet, the state, and Wilsonville politicians.[6] These included former mayor and then state representative Jerry Krummel, an early proponent of the line.[7] The public artwork was installed on September 3, 2008.[8] The line was scheduled to begin service in September 2008,[9] but delays led to an opening in January 2009.[10]
Details
The station is one of five on the 14.7-mile (23.7 km) rail line that utilizes Portland and Western Railroad's freight rail line.[6] Located on Barber Street on the west side of Interstate 5, the station and line are in operation only during the morning and evening commute times, Monday through Friday.[11] Averaging 37 miles per hour (60 km/h), each trip between Wilsonville and Beaverton is scheduled to take 27 minutes, and trains depart every 30 minutes.[11] Wilsonville station has bus connections through SMART, Canby Area Transit, and to Salem via Cherriots.[11]
Wilsonville station, WES's southern terminus, was built by contractor Stacy and Witbeck.[6] The stop includes a park-and-ride lot with 400 spaces along with the platform.[6] The platform includes a shelter for waiting passengers measuring 40 feet (12 m) long.[6] The station includes 12 bays for the transit center and a 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m2) maintenance building for SMART buses.[7] Future plans call for a mixed-use development to include SMART offices, retail shops and restaurants, along with public restrooms, bicycle storage and an outdoor play area.[7]
A SMART bus at the transit center in 2018
Additional amenities at the station are wind screens, public artwork, and a scored-concrete plaza featuring trees.[6] Public art consists of an interactive sculpture created by Frank Boyden and Brad Rude.[12] The sculpture features bronze heads and a vehicle designed to represent the train and the variety of people who ride the line.[12] The vehicle can be moved (by hand) along a track and has an animal figure displayed in a scene atop the piece.[12] Additionally, glass in the windbreak is etched with a willow pattern.[12]
Commuters from the surrounding communities of Lake Oswego, Canby, Donald, Woodburn, and Aurora are expected to utilize the station.[13][14]Washington County provided the land for Wilsonville station.[15] Self-propelled, diesel-fueled rail cars are used for the line.[4] The park-and-ride lot was partly built to allow for interconnection between the city's SMART bus service and the rail line.[16] For the first five years of operation, Wilsonville will pay a maximum of $300,000 a year to help fund the annual operations of the TriMet-operated line.[17]
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