In 1999, North Portland residents and city business leaders urged TriMet to revive the South/North Line's northern portion but without the Clark County segment, arguing that 81 percent of Multnomah County voters had wanted light rail.
TriMet agreed and developed a proposal to build the line along the median of North Interstate Avenue, between the Portland Expo Center and the Rose Quarter.
Meetings and polls conducted in June of that year determined that locals overwhelmingly supported the project, which organizers began calling the "Interstate MAX", as long as it was less expensive than the South/North Line, did not displace residents from their homes, and did not require any new taxes.
The city council subsequently endorsed this proposal.
TriMet projected the cost of the light rail extension at $350 million (equivalent to $495 million in 2018 dollars).

To build the Interstate MAX without the need for a significant new source of local funding, the city created an urban renewal district surrounding the alignment, adopting the Interstate Corridor urban renewal area (ICURA) plan in August 2000.
This covered an expansive 3,744-acre (1,515 ha) area within 10 neighborhoods and directed $30 million in tax increment funds towards the project.
Around this time, TriMet and the city had also completed funding the Airport MAX and Central City Streetcar projects without requesting any federal assistance; this allowed TriMet to declare them part of the Interstate MAX project, which provided $257.5 million in matching federal funds that the Federal Transit Administration approved in September.
TriMet and Metro contributed $38.5 million and $24 million respectively to the remaining balance, sourced from their own general transportation funds.

Construction of the Interstate MAX began in February 2001 with a ceremony held near the Rose Quarter.
Initial work on the line's junction with the Eastside MAX, located near the east end of the Steel Bridge, required a 16-day closure of the Eastside MAX segment between Rose Quarter Transit Center and Old Town/Chinatown station, during which buses shuttled riders between the two stations.
In April, TriMet contracted Stacy and Witbeck to lay tracks between the Rose Quarter and Kenton, and to build a new vehicular overpass in Lower Albina.
Meanwhile, the agency awarded the section between Kenton and the Expo Center, which included the construction of a 3,850-foot-long (1,173 m) dual-track bridge north of North Argyle Street, to F.E. Ward Constructors.
The rapid pace of construction, which workers credited to improvements in track-laying and street reconstruction technology learned from previous MAX projects, hit a halfway point in April 2002.
TriMet marked this milestone with a concrete pouring ceremony at the line's intersection with Portland Boulevard.
Workers completed road and sidewalk improvements the following November, six months ahead of schedule.
In August 2003, with construction approximately 80 percent complete, TriMet officials announced the line's targeted opening for the following spring, months earlier than the previously anticipated September commencement.
Line testing began in February 2004 and continued up to the extension's inauguration.
In 1999, North Portland residents and city business leaders urged TriMet to revive the South/North Line's northern portion but without the Clark County segment, arguing that 81 percent of Multnomah County voters had wanted light rail. TriMet agreed and developed a proposal to build the line along the median of North Interstate Avenue, between the Portland Expo Center and the Rose Quarter. Meetings and polls conducted in June of that year determined that locals overwhelmingly supported the project, which organizers began calling the "Interstate MAX", as long as it was less expensive than the South/North Line, did not displace residents from their homes, and did not require any new taxes. The city council subsequently endorsed this proposal. TriMet projected the cost of the light rail extension at $350 million (equivalent to $495 million in 2018 dollars).
To build the Interstate MAX without the need for a significant new source of local funding, the city created an urban renewal district surrounding the alignment, adopting the Interstate Corridor urban renewal area (ICURA) plan in August 2000. This covered an expansive 3,744-acre (1,515 ha) area within 10 neighborhoods and directed $30 million in tax increment funds towards the project. Around this time, TriMet and the city had also completed funding the Airport MAX and Central City Streetcar projects without requesting any federal assistance; this allowed TriMet to declare them part of the Interstate MAX project, which provided $257.5 million in matching federal funds that the Federal Transit Administration approved in September. TriMet and Metro contributed $38.5 million and $24 million respectively to the remaining balance, sourced from their own general transportation funds.
Construction of the Interstate MAX began in February 2001 with a ceremony held near the Rose Quarter. Initial work on the line's junction with the Eastside MAX, located near the east end of the Steel Bridge, required a 16-day closure of the Eastside MAX segment between Rose Quarter Transit Center and Old Town/Chinatown station, during which buses shuttled riders between the two stations. In April, TriMet contracted Stacy and Witbeck to lay tracks between the Rose Quarter and Kenton, and to build a new vehicular overpass in Lower Albina. Meanwhile, the agency awarded the section between Kenton and the Expo Center, which included the construction of a 3,850-foot-long (1,173 m) dual-track bridge north of North Argyle Street, to F.E. Ward Constructors. The rapid pace of construction, which workers credited to improvements in track-laying and street reconstruction technology learned from previous MAX projects, hit a halfway point in April 2002. TriMet marked this milestone with a concrete pouring ceremony at the line's intersection with Portland Boulevard. Workers completed road and sidewalk improvements the following November, six months ahead of schedule. In August 2003, with construction approximately 80 percent complete, TriMet officials announced the line's targeted opening for the following spring, months earlier than the previously anticipated September commencement. Line testing began in February 2004 and continued up to the extension's inauguration.
MAX Yellow Line