Skip to main contentUpdate: The city of Portland called in a crane to remove the damaged streetcar from the street, Portland Bureau of Transportation spokesman Dan Anderson says.
Initial reports show that the truck driver was at fault, turning into the side of the streetcar, he adds.
Obviously, the crash will remove one streetcar from the line until repairs are made, although PBOT hasn't had a chance to calculate how much wait times may increase.
Anderson says crews hope to have MLK open before 5 pm.
Original post: Hang on to your commutes: A Portland Streetcar and a tractor-trailer collided on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and police say the route will be tied up at least until 5 pm.
A release from the Portland Police Bureau says that Central Precinct officers responded to a 1 pm crash between the streetcar and truck at MLK Boulevard and Southeast Market Street.
Southbound traffic is shut down. No injuries were reported (no word on how many people were actually on the streetcar).
The crash is sure to provide more ammunition to detractors of the Streetcar's east-side extension, a $148.3 million transit project that opened last September, adding 3.3 miles of track.
The Streetcar's eastside extension, known as the Central Loop, has faced issues since it opened.
Wait times are much longer than expected and in January the city paid $145,000 to fix problems with its brand new car. Finally, the cost to the city to pay TriMet for work on the line, $600,000 to $2.1 million, The Oregonian reported earlier this month.
WWeek 2015