If you haven’t heard of it, the Innovation Quadrant is the latest name for the area covering PSU, OHSU and OMSI.

More to the point, it includes three projects that will help ‘close’ the Streetcar Loop after the new bridge is completed:

• Create a new double-track connection through the re-developed Jasmine block adjacent to the Urban Center Plaza
• Replace the single-track section alongside Moody in South Waterfront with a double-track alignment in the rebuilt street (making room for Light Rail to use the current location) and connect to the west side of the new bridge
• Connect to the east side of the bridge

Portland has applied for a Federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant to help fund these connections.

The “lottery ticket” allusion refers to the fact the applications for the $1.5B in TIGER funds total about $56B. There are 19 TIGER applications from Oregon alone.

So we’re crossing our fingers…