The Purple line, scheduled to open in 2027, will run from the waterfront in Vancouver to Washington State University Vancouver, with construction costs not expected to exceed $42.5 million

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today

The Vine is ready for an extension in Vancouver, the first route to go north-south on C-TRAN’s bus rapid transit system

C-TRAN’s Highway 99 BRT Project is ready for the construction phase, and on Tuesday, the C-TRAN Board of Directors voted to authorize C-TRAN staff to enter into a contract with Tapani Inc. for construction services. The total cost for the proposed construction is not expected to exceed $42.5 million, according to C-TRAN figures given to the board at Tuesday’s meeting.

Scott Patterson, the deputy chief executive officer for C-TRAN, gave the presentation to board members. He noted that Tapani was the contractor for the first two Vine routes — Fourth Plain Boulevard and Mill Plain Boulevard. 

Those two lines have been considered a success in the transit world.

Patterson relayed a story about a recent trip to Washington D.C. for some of the C-TRAN team members, where they met with the new executive team at the Federal Transit Administration headquarters.

Patterson said he was “semishocked” that the new general counsel who was just appointed by the administration had so much information about C-TRAN.

“She asked us a lot of very probing and good questions about our first two BRT projects and how … this region’s been able to do such a good job with its BRT,” Patterson said. “The last comment she made is that she wants to talk to us more and that she sees our projects and the way we’ve been going about them as the model for the rest of the nation. Very pleased to be able to report that.”

The new Purple line for the Vine will go from the waterfront in downtown Vancouver to the campus of Washington State University Vancouver, with much of the 9-mile line on Highway 99.

There will be a groundbreaking ceremony at WSUV on July 9. 

According to C-TRAN’s timeline, the Purple line is scheduled to open in 2027.

The Red line serves Mill Plain Boulevard. The Green line, serving Fourth Plain Boulevard, was the first Vine route to open in Vancouver. 

Also Tuesday, board members approved HDR Engineering to complete the design, engineering, and environmental work on the extension project for the Green Line. Currently, the Green Line goes from downtown Vancouver to the Vancouver Mall Transit Center. This extension would take the Green Line east along Fourth Plain Boulevard, and turn north-south along 162nd Avenue. According to the C-TRAN timeline, the extension would be open for service in 2028.