October 4, 2017
Minority & Small Business Week
Page 21
Work with Minority Firms a Model
TriMet spreads
economic
stimulus
TriMet’s long standing com-
mitment of encouraging and
supporting businesses owned by
people of color and women when
competing for TriMet contracts on
transit construction projects has
become a national model.
Construction of the newest
MAX light rail route, the Orange
Line, was a boon for employment,
creating more than 7,000 direct
and 7,300 in-direct jobs, accord-
ing to TriMet officials. Figures
show nearly 600 private sector
firms performed work on the proj-
ect, including 134 Disadvantaged
Business Enterprise (DBE) firms.
Of those companies, 32 were
owned by women.
Raimore Construction, a black-
owned business from northeast
Portland and a member of the
DBE program, recently completed
a shelter expansion on the Orange
line which carries commuters be-
tween downtown Portland and
Milwaukie.
Company president, Jeff More-
land called it “one of the most crit-
ical projects” in company history.
“At least 80 percent of the work
performed on this was completed
by DBE firms,” he said, “creating
many new jobs for women and
people of color.”
TriMet’s Blue Line station re-
habilitation project this summer
to rejuvenate the Gresham City
Hall MAX station employed eight
DBEs, officials said, with addition-
al work moving to the 122nd Ave-
nue MAX station later this fall.
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The installation of additional shelters over the past year on the new TriMet MAX light rail Orange Line
between downtown Portland and Milwaukie is handled by crews from Raimore Construction, a black-
owned business from northeast Portland and a firm enrolled in the transit agency’s Disadvantaged
Business Enterprise program.