Vancouver, WA—C-TRAN officially planted the third branch of The Vine on Wednesday, breaking ground on The Vine on Highway 99. Construction will soon start in earnest on Clark County’s next bus rapid transit corridor, serving the Highway 99/Main Street corridor between Salmon Creek and the Vancouver Waterfront—a 9-mile corridor.
C-TRAN Chief Executive Officer Leann Caver joined Washington State University Vancouver Interim Chancellor Sandra Haynes, Washougal City Councilor and C-TRAN Board Chair Molly Coston, state Sen. Adrian Cortes and others for a celebration at WSU Vancouver, the northern terminus of the new line. Project partners lined up with shovels for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the future site of the WSU Vancouver station.
“We are proud to host the northern terminus of The Vine on Highway 99 here at WSU Vancouver, and we’re even prouder to support a vision for transportation that puts people first,” said Haynes. She noted that many WSUV students already have free access to C-TRAN through the Education Opportunity Pass, and The Vine will only make it easier to get to campus and elsewhere.
“That’s transformational,” said Haynes. “It means fewer students having to choose between paying for a parking permit or paying for textbooks. It means greater equity, lower carbon emissions and a more connected, resilient community.”
“Highway 99 is a crucial corridor not just for C-TRAN, but for our entire region,” said Caver. “This project will provide better transportation options up and down a 9-mile stretch that’s incredibly diverse, both economically and demographically. It will make meaningful, real improvements to local infrastructure and make Highway 99 a safer, more accessible corridor."
Bus rapid transit will bring faster, more frequent and more reliable service to Highway 99, one of C-TRAN’s busiest corridors. Larger vehicles, enhanced stations and with real-time information displays and other features will also improve the experience for riders and allow for future growth. The system will look and feel similar to The Vine service currently operating on Fourth Plain and Mill Plain. The Vine on Fourth Plain (Green Line) opened in 2017; The Vine on Mill Plain (Red Line) opened in 2023. The Vine on Highway 99 will be known as the Purple Line.
The Highway 99 project includes 32 new stations along the Highway 99/Main Street corridor, plus an expansion of C-TRAN’s Salmon Creek Park & Ride—soon to be Salmon Creek Transit Center. In the downtown area, The Vine on Highway 99 will use some existing Vine stations. When complete, the new service will replace the existing Route 71 and Route 19, which currently serve the Highway 99 corridor.
Construction will begin in earnest later this summer. The primary contractor on the project is Tapani Inc. of Battle Ground, Wash.
The Vine on Highway 99 is expected to open in 2027.
C-TRAN is the regional public transportation provider for Clark County. It offers Local bus service within its Clark County service area, plus Regional and Express bus service to Portland. C-TRAN also provides on-demand service with The Current, operating in Camas/Washougal, Ridgefield/La Center, WSU Vancouver/Salmon Creek, Rose Village, and the Port of Vancouver. For more information on C-TRAN please visit C-TRAN’s website at www.c-tran.com, or call Customer Service at 360-695-0123.
Contact:
Eric Florip, Manager of Communications and Marketing
360-906-7391 Office
360-904-9641 Cell
Eric.Florip@c-tran.org