Westside to Waterhouse Trail Connection

THPRD completed construction on the Westside Trail connection to the Waterhouse Trail in November 2016. This short, but vital section of the Westside Trail provides users the option to travel the length of the park district, about 10 miles, from PCC Rock Creek Campus in the north to Barrows Park in the south on mostly off street hard surface trails. With the construction of the trail additional safety improvements were also installed at the Light Rail track crossing at Merlo Station and a mid-block crossing was added with rapid flashing beacons just north of the tracks on 158th avenue. Upgrades to the existing railroad trestle provide a unique crossing of Cedar Mill Creek and all along the trail are views of the Nature Park to the south and as a contrast, the light rail trains taking commuters east and west through Beaverton to the north.

View the approved master plan trail alignment in the "Document Center" on the right side of this page.

(Content updated 08-01-18)

Project Summary & Public Benefits

The Westside/Waterhouse Trail connection is a gap in the trail system that will connect the Waterhouse (Community) Trail to the Westside (Regional) Trail. The project will require the cooperation of the City of Beaverton, TriMet, ODOT Rail and Portland and Western Railroad for an alignment on the abandoned rail bed on the north side of the Tualatin Hills Nature Park. This alignment will keep the commuter trail out of the Nature Park and its sensitive natural areas and it will be a direct route to the Merlo Light Rail Station.

Project Budget

$1,500,000

Contact Information

Please direct bond project-related comments or questions to Nicole Paulsen via email, at (503) 614-4017 or electronically using THPRD's web contact form.

Contractor Information

Contractor selection and construction bid award were approved by the THPRD Board of Directors at the March 7, 2016 Board of Directors meeting.

Benchmark Contracting was awarded the construction contract.