Editing MAX Light Rail (section)

===Right-of-way===
[[File:Portland Transit Mall with cyclists crossing.jpg|thumb|right|Buses traveling on MAX tracks on the Portland Transit Mall]]

MAX operates on a mixture of shared and exclusive transit right-of-way.<ref name="light-rail-technology">{{cite report |author1=Center for Urban Transportation Research. [[University of South Florida]] |author2=[[Transportation Technology Center, Inc.]] |title=Research Report and Findings: Light Rail Technology Scan and Case Studies |publisher=Federal Transit Administration |date=October 2022 |pages=97–112 |url=https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/2022-10/FTA-Report-No-0234.pdf |access-date=April 17, 2023 |archive-date=March 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313164949/https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/2022-10/FTA-Report-No-0234.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|98}} Within downtown Portland, trains run on surface streets. They operate in dedicated lanes restricted to personal vehicles, and operators abide by the city's traffic control system.<ref name="how-max-moves">{{cite web |url=https://blog.trimet.org/2019/08/07/how-max-moves-downtown/ |last=Earisman |first=Misty |title=How MAX Moves Downtown |date=August 7, 2019 |publisher=TriMet |access-date=April 17, 2023 |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418000317/https://blog.trimet.org/2019/08/07/how-max-moves-downtown/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="are-cars-allowed">{{cite web |url=https://blog.trimet.org/2020/01/17/ask-trimet-cars-on-max-tracks/ |last=Flynn |first=Alyssa |title=Ask TriMet: Are Cars Allowed on MAX or Streetcar Tracks? |date=Jan 17, 2020 |publisher=TriMet |access-date=April 17, 2023 |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418000318/https://blog.trimet.org/2020/01/17/ask-trimet-cars-on-max-tracks/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On the Morrison and Yamhill couplet, MAX travels in the left lanes.<ref name="Conceptual Design banfield">{{cite report |author=Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon |title=Banfield Light Rail Project: Conceptual Design Information for the City of Portland |url=https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=oscdl_trimet |publisher=TriMet Collection |volume=9 |date=November 1, 1981 |access-date=July 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928184313/http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=oscdl_trimet |archive-date=September 28, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|10}} On the Portland Transit Mall (5th and 6th couplet), MAX shares dedicated lanes with buses; both vehicle types travel in the center or right lanes and stop at their respective curbside platforms on the right lane.<ref name="power-signals"/> Lanes may be separated by turtleback [[delineator]]s or double-solid white lines,<ref name="light-rail-technology"/>{{rp|106}} and marked with white diamonds or white "T"s.<ref name="are-cars-allowed"/>

Outside of downtown Portland, MAX runs on street medians and viaducts, alongside freeways and freight lines, and underground. Where the tracks run within a street median, intersections are controlled by [[traffic signal]]s that give trains [[traffic signal preemption|preemption]]. Where tracks run on a separate right-of-way, trains are protected by [[Boom barrier|automated grade crossing gates]] when traversing [[level crossing]]s.<ref name="power-signals"/> Some segments of MAX are elevated to carry trains over busy thoroughfares and difficult terrain.<ref name="Don't look up">{{cite news |last=Stewart |first=Bill |title=Don't look up, but MAX bridge going in over I-205; strict safety measures are in place to protect motorists, and as the span is built, tracks will start going in on Airport Way |newspaper=The Oregonian |date=December 17, 1999 |page=A1}}</ref><ref name="longest-spans">{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Bill |last2=Leeson |first2=Fred |title=Interstate MAX may cross one of city's longest spans |newspaper=The Oregonian |date=February 26, 2001 |page=C3}}</ref> A {{Convert|3|mile|km|adj=on|abbr=out|spell=in}} section of tracks runs beneath [[Washington Park (Portland, Oregon)|Washington Park]] in Portland's [[Tualatin Mountains|West Hills]] through the Robertson Tunnel, the system's longest underground segment.<ref name="Board picks tunnel">{{cite news |last=Mayer|first=James |title=Board picks light-rail tunnel |newspaper=The Oregonian |date=April 13, 1991 |page=1}}</ref>

MAX crosses the Willamette River using the Steel Bridge and Tilikum Crossing. In studies conducted for the Eastside MAX, planners recommended using the Steel Bridge due to its former role as a river crossing for the city's historic streetcars. When MAX commenced service in 1986, trains shared the bridge's center lanes with vehicular traffic.<ref name="Conceptual Design banfield"/>{{rp|26–27}} In 2008, workers closed the bridge's upper deck to construct a junction between the Eastside MAX tracks and the newer Portland Transit Mall tracks. Upon reopening, the two inner lanes became exclusive to MAX trains, while cars, buses, and other motorized traffic were restricted to the two outer lanes.<ref name=trib-2008aug>{{cite news |last=Redden |first=Jim |title=Steel Bridge reopened with changes |url=http://portlandtribune.com/component/content/article?id=73269 |access-date=July 16, 2019 |newspaper=Portland Tribune |date=August 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107103941/https://pamplinmedia.com/component/content/article?id=73269 |archive-date=November 7, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> TriMet designed and built the newer Tilikum Crossing to accommodate transit vehicles (MAX, streetcar, and buses), cyclists, and pedestrians only; with the exception of [[First responder|emergency responders]], private vehicles are prohibited.<ref name="tilikum-factsheet-june-2014">{{cite web |url=https://trimet.org/pdfs/pm/Fact-sheets-timelines/TC_2Page_June2014.pdf |title=Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People, brings new connections and new options in 2015 |publisher=TriMet |date=June 2014 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |archive-date=March 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302213206/http://trimet.org/pdfs/pm/Fact-sheets-timelines/TC_2Page_June2014.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Tilikum Crossing is thus recognized as the first major "car-free" bridge in the United States.<ref name=Libby2015/>