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The MAX Blue Line is a 33 mile (53 km) Light Rail route in the Metropolitan Area Express light rail system in Portland, Oregon . The route runs between Hillsboro and Gresham , via downtown Portland. EASTSIDE MAX In the mid 1970s, TriMet began a study for light rail using funds intended for the cancelled Mt. Hood Freeway . The light rail project was known as the Banfield Light Rail Project, named for the freeway ( I-84 ) that part of the alignment followed. Voters approved funding for the project, but Gresham officials and businesses rejected the project until a slight routing change was agreed to. The 15 mile (24 km) route started construction in 1981 and opened in September 1986 . This part of the route is called the '''Eastside MAX''' today. The Eastside MAX has spawned over $2 billion in development and redevelopment along its route. WESTSIDE MAX In 1992 , Portland area voters approved funding for the Westside MAX line after the success of the Eastside MAX. It was originally conceived as a line between downtown Portland and 185th Avenue in Beaverton , but was later in the planning process extended to Hillsboro . Much of the right-of-way used in Beaverton and Hillsboro reused a route first constructed for the Oregon Electric Railway . Construction started in 1994 , and a half-mile extension between Southwest 10th Avenue and Kings Hill (Southwest 18th Avenue at Southwest Salmon Street) opened in August 1997 . This extension was going to include the rest of the originally-planned segment, but was delayed by tunneling problems. Instead, it was opened along with the section from Beaverton to downtown Hillsboro in September 1998 . The line drew strong ridership, and beat 2005 ridership projections nineteen months after the line opened. As of 2004http://www.trimet.org/pdfs/history/railfactsheet-westside.pdf (page 3), the Westside MAX has served as a magnet for $825 million worth of residential and commercial development, including 8,500 housing units launched within walking distance of the line. FUTURE PLANS There is a possibility of extending the Eastside MAX to Mount Hood Community College , so as to bring MAX service to Troutdale , and the Westside MAX may be extended west to Forest Grove . STATIONS REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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