February 15, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Dan Anderson

Portland Bureau of Transportation

503-823-3723

dan.anderson@portlandoregon.gov

Tram closes tonight at 8 p.m. for routine maintenance, reopens Tues. morning

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Bureau of Transportation announced today that the aerial tram serving South Waterfront and Oregon Health & Science University will close on Friday, February 15, at 8 p.m., and reopen at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 19. The closure is for routine maintenance and scheduled to coincide with lower passenger demand due to the Presidents Day holiday weekend.

Maintenance will focus on routine shortening of the tram’s haul rope. The haul rope, used to propel the tram cabins from one station to the other, stretches slightly over time and must be shortened periodically.

The Portland aerial tram is one of the most frequently used aerial tramways in the world. The two tram cabins have together made 300,000 trips on Marquam Hill since opening, making possible more than eight million passenger trips.

The tram opened to the public on January 27, 2007. The cabins travel 3,300 linear feet between the South Waterfront terminal adjacent to the OHSU Center for Health & Healing and the upper terminal at the Kohler Pavilion on OHSU's main campus. The tram cabins rise 500 vertical feet in three minutes, reaching speeds of 22 miles per hour. The Portland Aerial Tram is one of only two systems used for urban transit in the United States.

Visit www.portlandtram.org for history, schedule and fares or follow the tram on Facebook at www.facebook.com/portlandaerialtram.

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